Qaboos bin Said Al Said

Who is Qaboos bin Said Al Said?

Qaboos bin Said Al Said was the Sultan of Oman from 1970 until his death in 2020, becoming the longest-serving ruler in the modern Arab world at the time. Born in Salalah in the southern region of Dhofar, he was educated in England, trained at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, and briefly served with the British Army before returning home. In July 1970 he came to power after a bloodless palace coup that removed his father, Said bin Taimur, whose isolationist rule had left Oman almost entirely undeveloped, with only a handful of schools, minimal roads, and few hospitals in the whole country. Qaboos renamed the state the Sultanate of Oman and launched an ambitious modernization program funded by oil revenues, building schools, hospitals, and infrastructure across the country, abolishing slavery, and ending the long-running Dhofar rebellion. In 1996 he promulgated Oman's Basic Law, the country's first constitution, and steered Omani foreign policy toward careful neutrality, positioning the sultanate as a quiet regional mediator while joining the United Nations, the Arab League, and the Gulf Cooperation Council. Having no children, he left a sealed letter naming his cousin Haitham bin Tariq as successor, ensuring a peaceful transition after his death in January 2020.

Sources: Wikipedia: Qaboos bin Said · Encyclopaedia Britannica: "Qaboos bin Said" · Times of Oman, "Ten of the most inspirational quotes of late Sultan Qaboos"