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Qaboos bin Said al Said
Qaboos bin Said Al Said (Arabic: قابوس بن سعيد آل سعيد Qābūs bin Saʿīd ʾĀl Saʿīd; born 18 November 1940) 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.
Early life
Sultan Qaboos bin Sa‘id was born in Salalah in Dhofar on 18 November 1940. He is the only son of Sultan Said bin Taimur and princess Mazoon al-Mashani. He received his primary and secondary education at Salalah and Pune, India and was sent to a private educational establishment in England at age sixteen.[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, Sultan 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.
[edit]Rise to power
For six years prior to Said bin-Taymur's overthrow, Qaboos experienced virtual house-arrest in the Royal Palace of Salalah. In July 1970, soldiers supporting Qaboos clashed with forces loyal to Said bin-Taymur and deposed him. Qaboos maintains that his father abdicated the throne.[4] The British government helped to consolidate Qaboos' power.
Qaboos acceded to the throne on 23 July 1970 after deposing his father in a palace coup with the aim of ending the country's isolation and using its oil revenue for modernization and development,[5] 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 (1965–1975). 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.
[edit]Reign as Sultan
| Styles of The Sultan of Oman | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Reference style | His Majesty |
| Spoken style | Your Majesty |
| Alternative style | Sire |
The political system which Qaboos established is that of an absolute monarchy. Unlike the situation in neighbouring Saudi Arabia, Qaboos' decisions are not subject to modification by other members of Oman's royal family. Government decisions are said to be made through a process of decision-making by "consensus" with provincial, local and tribal representatives, though critics allege that Qaboos exercises de facto control of this process.[citation needed] Qaboos also regularly engages in tours of his realm, in which any citizen with a grievance or request is allowed to appeal to the Sultan in person.[6]
More recently, Qaboos has allowed parliamentary elections (in which women have voted and stood as candidates) and pledged greater openness and participation in government. The parliament enjoys legislative and oversight powers.[7] In 1979 Oman was the only Arab state to recognize Egyptian President Anwar Sadat's peace agreement with Israel.[8]
Qaboos' supporters point to his relative success in governing the country. By Gulf standards, Oman boasts good public order,[9] middlingprosperity,[10] and a relatively permissive society.[11] Since he acceded to the throne, Oman has broadened international relations, allowed newspapers, established high schools, built highways, opened hotels and shopping malls and spends a substantial portion of its dwindling oil revenues on health care and education.[4]
In September 1995, he was involved in a car accident in Salalah just out side his palace, which claimed the life of one of his most prominent and influential ministers and his right hand man, Qais Bin Abdul Munaim Al Zawawi.
In October 1998, Qaboos bin Said was presented with the International Peace Award by the National Council on US-Arab Relations.[12] He also forges and maintains good relations with other Arab states and partners in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).[13]
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