Postage stamps and postal history of Qatar

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

British Postal Agencies in Eastern Arabia until 1957 when overprinted British stamps were introduced. Qatar Post took responsibility for postal administration in May 1963 and joined the Universal Postal Union
in January 1969. The first Qatari stamps were issued in 1961 and there was an independence issue in January 1972. Since then, Qatar Post has continued to manage the country's postal administration and to issue its stamps, which are mostly relevant to Qatar itself.

Treaty postal service established

Until 1915, Qatar was part of the

postal service.[2] Qatar continued to have special treaty relations with Great Britain until 3 September 1971, when it became an independent state.[3]

Until 1950, any mail had to be sent privately to the

Umm Sa'id oil terminal on 1 February 1956 and a third at Dukhan on the west coast in January 1960. The Qatari postal administration was established on 23 May 1963.[4]

British agency stamps

A British Wilding series stamp, issued 1 April 1957, and overprinted for use in Qatar.

Until August 1950, British

British Postal Agencies in Eastern Arabia stamps. These were not overprinted. The same stamps were sold in Muscat and Dubai. They were also available in Bahrain and Kuwait when need arose. Mian Muhammad Rafique Ahmed (1919–2001), a Pakistani, was Qatar's first Postmaster General, appointed in 1955.[5] The agency stamps were withdrawn from sale in April 1957 but nevertheless continued to be valid and were postmarked when used.[4]

British overprints

The inaugural Qatar issue on 1 April 1957 was twelve British

pence (1s 6d).[4] Later in 1957, three stamps from the British Scouting Jubilee series were issued and in 1960 a further series of Wilding stamps were issued with a different watermark. As with the inaugural issue, these were overprinted QATAR and surcharged in Indian currency.[4]

Qatari issues

The first stamps inscribed Qatar, rather than British stamps with the Qatar overprint, were a series of eleven definitives issued on 2 September 1961 and depicting Sheikh Ahmad bin Ali Al Thani (1922–1977).[4] On 23 May 1963, Qatar Post took responsibility for postal services in Qatar and from 1966 the currency used on stamps was changed from rupees to dirhams and riyals.[4] Qatar Post joined the Universal Postal Union on 31 January 1969 and, in 2012, hosted the 25th Universal Postal Union Congress.[6] The event was held from September to October 2012.[7]

The country became independent on 3 September 1971 and this was marked with a set of four stamps issued on 17 January 1972. Regular commemorative and definitive stamps have been issued since then, mostly on subjects relevant to Qatar. A postage stamp booklet was issued in 1977.[4]

References

  1. ^ Sheikh Mohammed Bin Thani. Amiri Diwan. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  2. ^ Sheikh Abdullah Bin Jassim Al Thani. Amiri Diwan. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  3. ^ Sheikh Ahmad Bin Ali Al Thani. Amiri Diwan. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  4. ^
    ISBN 978-0-8525-9576-3
    .
  5. ^ "First PMG of Qatar passes away in Lahore". The Peninsula Qatar. 5 December 2001. Archived from the original on 1 July 2012. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  6. ^ "Qatar signs agreement to hold 25th Universal Postal Congress 2012 in Doha". Universal Postal Union. 3 April 2009. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
  7. ^ "Qatar Hosts 25th Universal Postal Congress". Arab News Express. 23 September 2012. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
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