Sultan Haitham bin Tariq bin Taymur Al Said

Sultan Haitham bin Tariq bin Taymur Al Said, the ninth sworn Sultan of Oman, was taken in a smooth transition of power, following the revelation of the will of the late Sultan Qaboos bin Saeed, who died 10 January 2020. The new sultan is the cousin of his late counterpart, whose origins date back to the first founder of the Busaidid state (Imam Ahmad bin Saeed) in 1741 AD, whose family takes over the rule of the country, and is considered one of the oldest Arab families in a continuous manner. The new sultan attended the funeral of his predecessor, Qaboos bin Saeed, amid official celebration.

Unlike the late Sultan, who had no children or siblings inheriting the throne, the new Sultan Haitham bin Tariq bin Taymur had 4 children, including two sons. The new sultan has Dhi Yazan, Arab, Thuraya, and Umaima, his wife Ahd bint Abdullah bin Hamad Al Busaidiya, and his mother Shawana bint Hammoud bin Ahmed Al Busaidia. And the brothers of the new Sultan, eight, are: Talal, Asaad, Qais, Shihab, Adham, Faris, Kamila and Amal.

His name came as the country's sultan after the Omani Defense Council invited the royal family to determine the successor to Sultan Qaboos, who had ruled the country for nearly five decades. "Today, Saturday, the Defense Council received a generous response from the Royal Family Council, which, by virtue of the country's statute, convened it to choose the successor of Qaboos bin Said," the Defense Council, which includes senior officers and officials, and who is entrusted with inviting the family to determine the caliph, said in a statement.

According to Article (6) of the Basic Law of the State, the Royal Family Council shall, within three days of the vacancy of the position of Sultan, determine who the governing authority is transferred to, and if the Family Council does not agree on the selection of a Sultan for the country, the Defense Council shall jointly with the heads of the State Council, the Shura Council and the President The Supreme Court and the two oldest deputies to confirm who the Sultan referred in his letter to the Family Council.

It explained that "the Council of the Royal Family met and decided gratitude, gratitude and appreciation to the late, God willing, Sultan Qaboos bin Saeed, and with firm conviction, confirmation of who was recommended by the Sultan in his will." The Defense Council statement added, "The Royal Family Council has entrusted the Defense Council to open the will, as stipulated in Article 6 (6) of the Basic Law of the State, and take measures to install those recommended by the Sultan in coordination with the Royal Family Council." It continued, "The Council was honored by the presence of the members of the royal family (who were not named) honorable witnesses to the procedures".

The new sultan, born October 13, 1954 in Muscat, Oman, is a prominent member of the ruling Al Said family of Oman. After graduating from Oxford University in 1979, he pursued postgraduate studies at the Pembroke College, and Haitham bin Tariq graduated in various positions in the Omani state. Before his inauguration on Saturday of Sultan of Oman, Haitham bin Tariq held the portfolio of the Ministry of Heritage and Culture for a period of 18 years (2002-2020).

He had a passage in the sports and youth sector in the eighties, as he was the first president of the Omani Football Association between 1983 and 1986, which is also the reason for his appointment in 2010 as Chairman of the National Organizing Committee for the Asian Games. Bin Tariq moved from the sports sector to the diplomatic field in 1986, where he took the position of Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Political Affairs for eight years (1986-1994).

In the year 1994, Sultan Qaboos appointed him Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, before he was appointed in 2002 as Minister of Heritage and Culture, the position he held until his inauguration as Sultan of Oman on January 11, 2020.

In addition to the portfolio of the Ministry of Culture, Haitham bin Tariq Al Said also assumed the Committee for Future Visions, which the late Sultan had placed in charge of planning for the future of Oman until the year 2040. The new Sultan focused on the youth component to resurrect the Sultanate of Oman. In a previous press statement, Haitham bin Tariq said during a meeting gathered with young people within the framework of the Oman Visions 2040 project that many legislations will be reviewed after the adoption of the vision and that the program on which the visions of the future of Oman is based is Summary of “What Omani Youth Are Looking For".