Qaboos bin Said al Said

Qaboos bin Said Al Said
Sultan of Oman
Reign 23 July 1970 – present
Predecessor Said bin Taimur
Spouse Sayyidah Nawwal bint Tariq (1976–1979)
House Al Said
Father Said bin Taimur
Mother Mazoon al-Mashani
Born 18 November 1940
Salalah, Oman
Religion Ibadi Islam

Qaboos bin Said Al Said (Arabic: قابوس بن سعيد آل سعيد‎ Qābūs bin Saʿīd ʾĀl Saʿīd; born 18 November 1940[1]) is the Sultan of Oman and its dependencies. He rose to power after overthrowing his father, Said bin Taimur, in a palace coup in 1970. He is the 14th-generation descendant of the founder of the Al Bu Sa'idi dynasty.[2]

Early life

Qaboos was born in Salalah in Dhofar on 18 November 1940. He is the only son of Sultan Said bin Taimur and Sheikha Mazoon al-Mashani. He received his primary and secondary education at Salalah and Pune, India where he was the student of Shankar Dayal Sharma, the former President of India and was sent to a private educational establishment in England at age 16.[3] At 20, he entered the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. After graduating from Sandhurst, he joined the British Army and was posted to the 1st Battalion The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), serving in Germany for one year. He also held a staff appointment with the British Army.

After his military service, Qaboos studied local government subjects in England and, after a world tour, returned home to Salalah where he studied Islam and the history of his country.

Rise to power

Qaboos acceded to the throne on 23 July 1970 following a successful coup against his father, with the aim of ending the country's isolation and using its oil revenue for modernization and development,[4] moving to Muscat. There he declared that the country would no longer be known as Muscat and Oman, but would change its name to "the Sultanate of Oman" in order to better reflect its political unity.

The first pressing problem that Qaboos bin Said faced as Sultan was an armed communist insurgency from South Yemen, the Dhofar Rebellion (1962–1976). The sultanate eventually defeated the incursion with help from the Shah of Iran, Jordanian troops sent from his friend king Hussein of Jordan, British Special Forces and the Royal Air Force.

Reign as sultan

Styles of
The Sultan of Oman
Reference style His Majesty
Spoken style Your Majesty
Alternative style Sire
Sultan Qaboos meets with the American vice president Dick Cheney during his visit to the Middle East in 2002.

The political system which Qaboos established is that of an absolute monarchy.

Oman has no system of checks and balances, and thus no separation of powers.[5] All power is concentrated in the sultan,[5] who is also chief of staff of the armed forces, Minister of Defense, Minister of Foreign Affairs and chairman of the Central Bank.[5] All legislation since 1970 has been promulgated through royal decrees, including the 1996 Basic Law.[5] The sultan appoints judges, and can grant pardons and commute sentences.[5] The sultan's authority is inviolable and the sultan expects total subordination to his will.[5]

In September 1995, he was involved in a car accident in Salalah just outside his palace, which claimed the life of one of his most prominent and influential ministers and his right-hand man, Qais Bin Abdul Munim Al Zawawi.

According to CBS News,

Several protest leaders have been detained and released in rolling waves of arrests during the Arab Spring, and dissatisfaction with the state of affairs in the country is high. While disgruntlement amongst the populace is obvious, the extreme dearth of foreign press coverage and lack of general press freedom there leaves it unclear as to whether the protesters want the sultan to leave, or simply want their government to function better. Beyond the recent protests, there is concern about succession in the country, as there is no heir apparent or any clear legislation on who may be the next Sultan.[6]

Foreign policy

Qaboos officially keeps Oman neutral, having contacts and normal relations with Iran while being an ally of western states like the United Kingdom and the United States.

Oman has more normal relations with Iran than the other Persian Gulf states, and is careful to appear neutral and maintain a balance between the West and Iran.[7] As a result, Oman has often acted as an intermediary between the United States and Iran.[8][9]

Views on ideology

Qaboos criticized the Arab nationalist leader Gamal Abdel Nasser in private discussions with American officials which were released by Wikileaks. He said Nasser deliberately used inflammatory speeches and rhetoric to make his people stupid, and accused Nasser of having "set the region back", holding a position of "anti-everything". Qaboos concluded that the Muslim Brotherhood obtained support from the uneducated people.[10]

Qaboos is a Muslim of the Ibadi denomination, which has traditionally ruled Oman.[11] He has financed the construction or maintenance of a number of mosques, notably the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, as well as the holy places of other religions.

Succession

Unlike the heads of other Persian Gulf states, Qaboos has not publicly named an heir. This has become a particular relevant problem, after the sultan has spent eight months in Germany for medical treatment of an alleged cancer. Although Sultan Qaboos returned to Oman on 23 March 2015 and state officials as well as the Sultan himself have repeatedly tried to assure the population over his health, uncertainty still remains and the question of his succession is giving way to all sorts of speculations.[12] Article 6 of the constitution says the royal family should choose a new sultan within three days of the position falling vacant. If the royal family council fails to agree, a letter containing a name penned by sultan Qaboos should be opened in the presence of a defense council of military and security officials, supreme court chiefs, and heads of the two quasi-parliamentary advisory assemblies.[13] Analysts see the rules as an elaborate means of sultan Qaboos securing his choice for successor without causing controversy by making it public during his lifetime.[13]

Qaboos has no children; there are other male members of the Omani royal family including several paternal uncles and their families. Using primogeniture, the successor to Qaboos would appear to be the children of his late uncle, Sayyid Tariq bin Taimur Al Said, Oman's first prime minister before the sultan took over the position himself.[14] Oman watchers believe the top contenders to succeed Qaboos are three of Tariq's sons: Assad bin Tariq Al Said, the personal representative of the Sultan; Shihab bin Tariq, a retired naval commander; and Haytham bin Tariq, the Minister of Heritage and National Culture.[13][15] First Deputy Prime Minister Fahd bin Mahmud al-Said, a distant cousin of the Sultan, and Taimur bin Assad, the son of Assad bin Tariq, are also mentioned as potential candidates.[13] The problem is that none of the above seem to have the necessary capacities to rule Oman, since Sultan Qaboos, differently from the other Gulf countries, has relied more on the business elite than on family members, who have been excluded from key positions, to secure his power over the country. Anyway, his successor will have to strive to secure the same legitimacy that the current Sultan has managed to gain. Moreover, the question raises whether also the next successor will keep the same absolute power in his hands or whether he will decide to separate State powers, given that although Oman has been largely untouched by the 2011 Arab Spring, unrest has kept on sweeping through the country throughout 2012 and 2013. It is thus reasonable to expect that the younger generation won't accept from the next successor the same grip on power that the Sultan now has.[12]

Other public activities

Qaboos bin Said is an avid fan and promoter of classical music. His 120-member orchestra has a high reputation in the Middle East. The orchestra consists entirely of young Omanis who, since 1986, audition as children and grow up as members of the symphonic ensemble. They play locally and travel abroad with the sultan.[16] Argentine composer Lalo Schifrin was commissioned to compose a work entitled Symphonic Impressions of Oman[17] and the Sultan is particularly enthusiastic about the pipe organ.[18] The Royal Opera House Muscat features the largest mobile pipe organ in the world, which has three specially made organ stops, named the "Royal Solo" in his honour.[19] He was also a patron of local folk musician Salim Rashid Suri, making him a cultural consultant, in which role Suri wrote songs praising the Sultan and his family.[20]

The Sultan's birthday, 18 November, is celebrated as Oman's national holiday. The first day of his reign, 23 July, is celebrated as Renaissance Day.

On 22 March 1976, Qaboos bin Said married his cousin, Kamila, née Sayyidah Nawwal bint Tariq Al-Said (born 1951), daughter of Sayyid Tariq bin Taymur Al-Said. The marriage ended in divorce in 1979.[21] She remarried in 2005. Qaboos bin Said is rumoured to be behind the recent purchase of former England national team captain John Terry's Surrey mansion.

Palaces

Name City Area Coordinates Features
Al Alam Palace Muscat 2.0 km2 (0.77 sq mi) 23°36′52.86″N 58°35′43.90″E / 23.6146833°N 58.5955278°E

Super yachts

Name Length (m) Shipyard Year Description
Al Said 155[22] Lürssen2007 Contains a Helipad, an orchestra and swimming pool. Berthed most of the time in Mutrah port.
Fulk al Salamah[23]136 Lürssen 1987 Owned by the Royal Navy of Oman. It has participated in Ship for World Youth.[24]
Loaloat Al Behar103.85 Picchiotti Italy 1982 Largest yacht built in Italy in the 1980s. Sold.
Zinat al Bihaar61 Oman Royal Yacht Squadron[25] 1988 Luxury sailing yacht with world's largest sail built in Oman with imported engine from Siemens.
Al-Noores 33.5[26]K. Damen Netherlands 1982 Specialized tug boat for the other royal yachts.

Military ranks

Qaboos holds the following ranks:[27]

Foreign honours

He has been awarded (° = Royal Ark):[27]

Ancestry

See also

References

  1. ↑ Al Sa'id, Qaboos (1940–) – Personal history, Biographical highlights, Personal chronology, Influences and contributions, The world's perspective, Legacy. Encyclopedia.jrank.org. Retrieved on 14 July 2011.
  2. ↑ "Qaboos bin Said". Webster's Concise Encyclopedia 1. New York: Gramercy Books. 1998. p. 520.
  3. ↑ Tribute to His Majesty
  4. ↑ PROFILE-Oman's Sultan Qaboos bin Said. Forexyard.com (2011-03-25). Retrieved on 14 July 2011.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 "Country Report: Oman".
  6. ↑ "The world's enduring dictators: Qaboos bin Said, Oman".
  7. ↑ Slackman, Michael (16 May 2009). "Oman Navigates Between Iran and Arab Nations". The New York Times.
  8. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/05/world/middleeast/irans-president-to-speak-at-the-un.html?_r=0 Iran’s President to Speak at the U.N.
  9. ↑ http://www.economist.com/blogs/pomegranate/2013/08/iran Iran: A visit from the sultan
  10. ↑ "US embassy cables: Oman sultan resists Iranian charm offensive". The Guardian (London). 28 November 2010.
  11. ↑ Though Ibadhis are the majority in Oman, with Sunnis a minority, exact percentages are unavailable; 75% for the Ibadhis is often cited, while the Sunnis, followed by a small amount of local Shiites and foreign Hindus, Christians, and others make up the remaining 25%.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 https://chronicle.fanack.com/oman/history-past-to-present/sultan-qaboos-is-back-but-uncertainty-remains/
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 Dokoupil, Martin (24 May 2012). "Succession Question Fuels Uncertainty in Oman". Reuters. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  14. ↑ HH Prince Sayyid Tarik bin Taimur al-SAID. Freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com. Retrieved on 14 July 2011.
  15. ↑ "The Question of Succession". Muscat Confidential. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  16. ↑ Trofimov, Yaroslavth (14 December 2001). "Oman has oil, but it had no orchestra". Wall Street Journal: A6.
  17. ↑
  18. ↑ Carlo Curly & Mathis Music at the Wayback Machine (archived December 16, 2008)
  19. ↑ . Times of Oman; "In the Eye of Beauty - An Ode to the Organ" 11th December 2014; retrieved 24th December 2014.
  20. ↑ Margaret Makepeace (November 26, 2013). "The Singing Sailor - Salim Rashid Suri". Untold Lives Blog. British Library. Retrieved November 30, 2014.
  21. ↑ Joseph A. Kechichian (December 17, 2010). "Sultan Qaboos Bin Saeed: A democrat visionary". Weekend Review. Gulf News. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
  22. ↑ Top 100. Yachtspotter.com (2010-07-27). Retrieved on 14 July 2011.
  23. ↑ Access Perpetual Wellbeing in Excess: Sultan Qaboos's extravaganza. Inequalityreduced.blogspot.com (2009-01-01). Retrieved on 14 July 2011.
  24. ↑ Central and South Asia. Saudi Aramco World. Retrieved on 14 July 2011.
  25. ↑ Sailing Yacht – Zinat al Bihaar – Oman Royal Yacht Squadron – Completed Superyachts on Superyacht Times .com. Superyachttimes.info. Retrieved on 14 July 2011.
  26. ↑ Motor Yacht – Al-Noores – K. Damen – Completed Superyachts on Superyacht Times .com. Superyachttimes.com. Retrieved on 14 July 2011.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 The Royal Ark, Oman genealogical details, p.9
  28. ↑ "Reply to a parliamentary question about the Decoration of Honour" (PDF) (in German). p. 1441. Retrieved November 2012.
  29. ↑ HM deserves much more than awards and medals. Times of Oman (2007-01-28). Retrieved on 14 July 2011.
  30. ↑ Badraie
  31. ↑ Italian Presidency Website, S.M. Qaboos bin Said Sultano dell'Oman - decorato di Gran Cordone
  32. ↑ 1999 National Orders awards

External links

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Qaboos bin Said al Said
House of Al Said
Born: 18 November 1940
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Said Bin Taimur		 Sultan of Oman
1970–present 		Incumbent