Qaboos bin Said

Qaboos bin Said
Sultan Qaboos in 2013
Sultan of Oman Minister of Finance, Defence and Foreign Affairs
Reign	23 July 1970 – 10 January 2020
Prime Minister	Tariq bin Taimur (1970–72) Himself (1972–2020)
Predecessor	Said bin Taimur
Successor	Haitham bin Tariq
Prime Minister of Oman
In office	1972 – 10 January 2020
Deputy	Fahd bin Mahmoud al Said (1972–2020) Fahr bin Taimur al Said (1976–96) Qais Bin Abdul Munim Al Zawawi (1982–95) Thuwaini bin Shihab al Said (?–1984–2010) Asa'ad bin Tariq (2017–20)
Predecessor	Tariq bin Taimur
Successor	Haitham bin Tariq
Born	(1940-11-18)18 November 1940 Salalah, Muscat and Oman (present day Dhofar Governorate, Oman)
Died	10 January 2020(2020-01-10) (aged 79) Seeb, Muscat Governorate, Oman[1]
Buried	11 January 2020[2] Royal Cemetery, Muscat
Spouse	Sayyida Nawwal bint Tariq ​ ​ (m. 1976; div. 1979)​
Names Qaboos bin Said bin Taimur bin Faisal bin Turki bin Said Al Said
House	Al Said
Father	Said bin Taimur
Mother	Mazoon al-Mashani
Religion	Ibadi Islam
Signature

Qaboos bin Said Al Said^[a] (Arabic: قابوس بن سعيد آل سعيد, IPA: [qaː.buːs bin sa.ʕiːd ʔaːl sa.ʕiːd]; 18 November 1940 – 10 January 2020) was Sultan of Oman from 23 July 1970 until his death in 2020. A fifteenth-generation descendant of the founder of the House of Al Said,^[3] he was the longest-serving leader in the Middle East and Arab world at the time of his death,^[4] having ruled for almost half a century.

The only son of Said bin Taimur, Sultan of Muscat and Oman, Qaboos was educated in Suffolk, England. After graduating from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, he served briefly in the British Army. He returned to Oman in 1966 and was the subject of considerable restrictions from his father. In 1970, Qaboos ascended to the Omani throne after overthrowing his father in a coup d'état, with British support. The country was subsequently renamed the Sultanate of Oman.

As sultan, Qaboos implemented a policy of modernization and ended Oman's international isolation.^[5][6] His reign saw a rise in living standards and development in the country,^[7] the abolition of slavery, the end of the Dhofar Rebellion, and the promulgation of Oman's constitution. Suffering from poor health in later life, Qaboos died in 2020. He had no children, so he entailed the royal court to reach consensus on a successor upon his death. As a precaution he hid a letter which named his successor in case an agreement was not achieved. After his death the royal court decided to view Qaboos's letter and named his intended successor, his cousin Haitham bin Tariq, as sultan.^[8]

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