Qaboos, the Sultan Who Transformed Oman

SUNDAY, JANUARY 12, 2020 07 Qaboos transformed the Arabian Peninsula nation from a backwater into a modern state while pursuing a moderate but active foreign policy cil statement said. (GCC). 1962. State media did not disclose “He was a stable force in the He went on to join a British the cause of death. Qaboos had Middle East and a strong US infantry battalion in Germany, been ailing for years and was in ally. His Majesty had a vision returning home to bide his time Belgium in December for treat- for a modern, prosperous, and under the close watch of his fa- ment. peaceful Oman, and he willed ther, Sultan Said bin Taymur. that vision into reality,” former On July 23, 1970, Qaboos de- Longest-serving leader US president George W. Bush posed his father in a palace coup, Qaboos, who died on Friday at said in a message of condolence. pledging “a new era” for the na- the age of 79 as the longest-serv- Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mo- tion. ing leader of the modern Arab hammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan “In the early years, he went world, came to power in 1970. said Saturday that Oman and village to village and he had a He had been ill for some time the Arab world have lost a “wise weekly radio address -- that and was believed to be suffering leader and a (figure) of great was the only way to reach the from colon cancer. historical stature”. entire population at the time,” The late sultan, who was un- British Prime Minister Boris said Muscat-based public policy married and had no children, Johnson also recalled a meet- analyst Ahmed al-Mukhaini. left no apparent heir. Under the ing with Qaboos where he was Qaboos channelled revenues constitution, his successor was “struck by his commitment to from fledgeling oil exports into to be selected in a meeting of the peace and understanding be- infrastructure, taking the coun- royal family. tween nations and between try from having just a handful of Under the Omani constitu- faiths.” primary schools and some eight I am deeply saddened to learn about the passing tion, they had three days to make “He leaves a profound legacy, kilometres (six miles) of paved away of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said al a decision and if they failed to not only in Oman but across the roads to a modern state with Said. He was a visionary leader and statesman agree, the person chosen by region too,” Johnson said. well over 1,000 schools and a who transformed Oman into a modern and the late sultan in a sealed letter massive highway network. Discreet mediator prosperous nation. He was a beacon of peace for would succeed him. The sultan also commissioned our region and the world State TV said during a live During the sultan’s reign, an opera house for Muscat, its NARENDRA MODI Qaboos is seen as a child sitting on his broadcast of the funeral that the Western nations repeatedly packed calendar a testament to INDIAN PRIME MINISTER father’s lap letter had been opened, without turned to Muscat to act as a his support for the arts. elaborating as to why. mediator in resolving thorny But Qaboos was no ceremoni- “Haitham bin Tariq was regional issues -- from the kid- al monarch. He held every top AFP, Reuters | Dubai Oman and the Arab world have lost a wise leader and a (figure) sworn in as the new sultan of napping of Americans and Eu- post, from the commander of the “of great historical stature.” the country... after a meeting ropeans to the 2015 Iran nuclear armed forces to finance minister. Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan ultan Qaboos bin Said, of the family which decided to deal. In 1991, he offered a modicum who died late on Friday, appoint the one who was chosen “It’s almost impossible to of democracy, creating a Con- Stransformed Oman during by the sultan,” the government imagine Oman without Sultan sultative Council -- with elected his 49-year reign from a pover- said in a tweet. Qaboos at the helm,” said Kris- members -- to complement the A brother, friend and a leader who dedicated his life to the ty-stricken country torn by dis- tian Ulrichsen, a fellow at Rice State Council -- whose members “causes of Arab and Islamic countries.” sent into a prosperous state and ‘Switzerland’ of Mideast University’s Baker Institute in he appointed. Emir of Kuwait Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah an internationally trusted me- Qaboos transformed the Ara- the US. During nearly five decades diator for some of the region’s bian Peninsula nation from a “His wise leadership and re- in power, Qaboos chose never thorniest issues. backwater into a modern state gional statesmanship is never to remarry after a brief union Saudis share the sorrows of the Sultanate of Oman and its He became sultan in July 1970 with a thriving tourism industry, more urgently needed than at in 1976. “people.” ended the country’s isolation thanks to the country’s crystal the present time,” Ulrichsen said In his final years, he was be- Saudi Arabia and used its oil revenue for mod- waters, scenic desert and moun- on Twitter. lieved to be suffering from colon ernisation and development. tain ranges. Qaboos was born on Novem- cancer and rarely appeared in Qaboos, 79, never publicly But it was the sultan’s poli- ber 18, 1940, into the centu - public following medical treat- We have lost a wise leader in my brother His Majesty Sultan named a successor but secretly cy of neutrality and non-inter- ries-old Al-Said dynasty in the ment in Germany in March 2015. “Qaboos bin Said of Oman recorded his choice in a sealed ference that elevated Oman’s southern provincial capital of When he did, the King Abdullah II of Jordan letter should the royal family standing as a “Switzerland of the Salalah, in an isolated country gaunt, bronzed sultan disagree on the succession line. Middle East” and made him an on the margins of the modern still cut a refined fig- “I have already written down important mediator. world. ure in sumptuous two names, in descending order, Many Western and Arab dip- Older Omanis recall the robes and colourful and put them in sealed enve - lomats see the sultanate, with capital Muscat had no turbans. lopes in two different regions,” its moderate but active foreign electricity or running he said in a 1997 interview. policy that includes healthy re- water and the gates of State television said his cousin lations with the United States the medieval city were Haitham bin Tariq al-Said was as well as with regional powers locked at dusk. named sultan on Saturday after Iran and Saudi Arabia, as a mod- The young Qaboos the high military council called el of balance. was sent abroad for his on the ruling family council to As the Gulf’s discreet go-be- education to Britain, choose a successor. The family tween, Oman played a role in attending the elite had followed Qaboos’ written Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with Sandhurst Royal Mil- recommendation, believing in world powers while preserving itary Academy “his wisdom and vision”, a mili- its membership in the Saudi-led from where he tary coun-Qaboos,Gulf Cooperation Council the graduated in sultan who transformed Oman.

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