Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said
On 10 January 2020, Sultan Qaboos bin Said of Oman al Said died.
He was 79 years old.
Family
Qaboos bin Said al Said was born on 18 November 1940 in Salalah in
Dhofar, Oman as an only son of Sultan Said bin Taimur and Sheikha Mazoon
al-Mashani.
His paternal grandparents were Taimur bin Faisal and Sheikha Fatima
bint' Ali Al Sa'id.
He was a member of the House of al Said.
Education
Qaboos bin Said al Said received his primary and secondary education at
Salalah and he was sent to a private educational establishment at
Bury St. Edmunds in England at the age of 16.
When he was 20 years old, he entered the Royal Military Academy of
Sandhurst. After graduating from Sandhurst in September 1962, he joined
the British Army.
After his military service, Qaboos studied local government subjects in
England and he completed his education with a world tour.
When he returned to his country in 1966, he was placed under virtual
house arrest in the Sultan's Palace in Salalah by his own father. He was
kept from government affairs.
Qaboos studied Islam and the history of his country.
Love and Marriage
On 22 March 1976, Qaboos married his first cousin, Kamila Nawwal
bint Tariq Al Said. She was a daughter of Sayyid Tariq bin Taimur
Al Said and his wife Sayyida Shawana bint Nasir Al Said. The
marriage between Qaboos and Kamila ended in a divorce in 1979.
The marriage produced no heirs.
Reign
Qaboos acceded to the throne on 23 July 1970 after a coup against his
father. He declared that the country would no longer be known as
Muscat and Oman. He would change the name to the Sultanate of Oman.
The coup was supported by the British, it was planned by M16 and by
civil servants at the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign Office.
With the help of the Shah of Iran, King Hussein of Jordan and British
Special Forces and the Royal Air Force, Qaboos could solve the
Dhofar Rebellion.
When he became a Sultan, Oman was poorly developed, it missed the
infrastructure, healthcare and education. Qaboos modernized the country
using oil revenues.
The Omani rial was established as the national currency, replacing the
Indian rupee and Maria Theresa Thaler. Later new ports were built.
Qaboos also abolished slavery in Oman.
Qaboos establised a political system which is known as an absolute
monarchy. 18 November, the B-Day of the Sultan became the
national day of the country. Will this change with the new leader?
In 2011 there were lots of protests in the Middle East even in Oman.
It occured as a part of the revolutionary wave known as the Arab
Spring.
The Sultan's responses to this protests included the dismissal of a third
of the governing cabinet.
Oman has better relations with Iran than the Arab States
of the Persian Gulf. Oman has often acted as an intermediary between
the United States and Iran. I'm curious how this will continue.
In October 2018, Qaboos invited Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime
Minister of Israel to Oman. With this visit he made history!
Illness and death
From 2015, Qaboos sufferd from colon cancer. On 14 December 2019,
he was reported to be terminal with a short time to live after his stay for
medical treatment in the UZ Leuven hospital in Belgium.
Haitham bin Tariq Al Said became Sultan of Oman after the death of
Sultan Qaboos.
Source pictures: Wikipedia
He was 79 years old.
Family
Qaboos bin Said al Said was born on 18 November 1940 in Salalah in
Dhofar, Oman as an only son of Sultan Said bin Taimur and Sheikha Mazoon
al-Mashani.
His paternal grandparents were Taimur bin Faisal and Sheikha Fatima
bint' Ali Al Sa'id.
He was a member of the House of al Said.
Education
Qaboos bin Said al Said received his primary and secondary education at
Salalah and he was sent to a private educational establishment at
Bury St. Edmunds in England at the age of 16.
When he was 20 years old, he entered the Royal Military Academy of
Sandhurst. After graduating from Sandhurst in September 1962, he joined
the British Army.
After his military service, Qaboos studied local government subjects in
England and he completed his education with a world tour.
When he returned to his country in 1966, he was placed under virtual
house arrest in the Sultan's Palace in Salalah by his own father. He was
kept from government affairs.
Qaboos studied Islam and the history of his country.
Love and Marriage
On 22 March 1976, Qaboos married his first cousin, Kamila Nawwal
bint Tariq Al Said. She was a daughter of Sayyid Tariq bin Taimur
Al Said and his wife Sayyida Shawana bint Nasir Al Said. The
marriage between Qaboos and Kamila ended in a divorce in 1979.
The marriage produced no heirs.
Reign
Qaboos acceded to the throne on 23 July 1970 after a coup against his
father. He declared that the country would no longer be known as
Muscat and Oman. He would change the name to the Sultanate of Oman.
The coup was supported by the British, it was planned by M16 and by
civil servants at the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign Office.
With the help of the Shah of Iran, King Hussein of Jordan and British
Special Forces and the Royal Air Force, Qaboos could solve the
Dhofar Rebellion.
When he became a Sultan, Oman was poorly developed, it missed the
infrastructure, healthcare and education. Qaboos modernized the country
using oil revenues.
The Omani rial was established as the national currency, replacing the
Indian rupee and Maria Theresa Thaler. Later new ports were built.
Qaboos also abolished slavery in Oman.
Qaboos establised a political system which is known as an absolute
monarchy. 18 November, the B-Day of the Sultan became the
national day of the country. Will this change with the new leader?
In 2011 there were lots of protests in the Middle East even in Oman.
It occured as a part of the revolutionary wave known as the Arab
Spring.
The Sultan's responses to this protests included the dismissal of a third
of the governing cabinet.
Oman has better relations with Iran than the Arab States
of the Persian Gulf. Oman has often acted as an intermediary between
the United States and Iran. I'm curious how this will continue.
In October 2018, Qaboos invited Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime
Minister of Israel to Oman. With this visit he made history!
Illness and death
From 2015, Qaboos sufferd from colon cancer. On 14 December 2019,
he was reported to be terminal with a short time to live after his stay for
medical treatment in the UZ Leuven hospital in Belgium.
Haitham bin Tariq Al Said became Sultan of Oman after the death of
Sultan Qaboos.
Source pictures: Wikipedia
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