For most of recorded history, Qatar has been under the leadership of the Al Thani family who came to settle to the north of the peninsula during the middle of the 19th century. Until 1938 The State of Qatar was dependant on Pearl diving and fishing and the sea had long been the source of wealth and prosperity to the inhabitants of the region. Qatar’s first industrial revolution broke in October of that year when an Oil drill 2,500 feet underground created a mighty explosion. A rising cloudburst of air, mud and water announced Qatar had Oil.

Oil was then followed by the discovery of Gas in 1971 by which time Qatar had adopted a provisional constitution declaring it an independent Arab country with an official religion of Islam, using Shari’ah as the prime source of legislation and Arabic as an official language.

Modern day Qatar has kept its emphasis on combining Arabian traditions with one of the fastest growing economies in the world, and in recent years the capital, Doha, has seen incredible growth.

Under the leadership of His Highness Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Qatar has experienced a notable amount of sociopolitical liberalization, including becoming the first Middle Eastern nation to allow women to vote, creating a new constitution, and launching Al Jazeera, the controversial Arabic language satellite television news channel.

Qatar aims to become a role model for economic and social transformation in the region. Large scale investment in all social and economic sectors has lead to Qatar becoming the eleventh

Qatar Financial Centre has been created with a long term perspective to support the development of Qatar and the wider region, develop local and regional markets, and strengthen the links between the energy based economies and global financial markets.

Qatar also places great emphasis on education. Qatar provides free education from kindergarten through to university. In addition to Qatar University, Qatar Foundation, under the guidance of HH Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al-Missned, wife of the Emir, has created Education City where some major American universities have opened branch campuses.These include Carnegie Mellon University, Georgetown University, Texas A&M University, Virginia Commonwealth University and Cornell University's Weill Medical College. In 2004, Qatar established the Qatar Science & Technology Park at Education City to link those universities with industry. Education City is also home to a fully accredited International Baccalaureate school, Qatar Academy.

A state of the art sporting facility used in the 2006 Asian Games is now the home to Aspire, an academy for aspiring young athletes. Aspire offers state of the art facilities as well as an excellent education for up and coming athletes from around Qatar and the region.

In November 2002, H.H. Emir Shiekh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani created the Supreme Education Council. The Council directs and controls education for all ages from the pre-school level through the university level, including the "Education for a New Era" reform initiative. HH Sheikha Mozah sits on this board and is one of the driving forces behind it.

Doha is also experiencing a boom in construction which is evident by the number of new office towers and hotels that dominate the skyline at the West Bay business district. An ambitious new luxury residential area is also in the works called the Pearl, which promises to be the premier address in the Gulf. As well the largest ever residential construction project is underway in Lusail.

Finally a world class charity initiative also began a year and a half ago with the support of Qatar Foundation. Reach Out to Asia is dedicated to breaking down barriers to education in Asia. So far it has helped to build schools in earthquake ravaged Pakistan and war torn Lebanon, among other projects.

All of these things combine to make Qatar a dynamic and growing country in the heart of the Arabian Gulf