Sayyid Taimur bin Asad bin Tariq al-Said
On 03 March 2017, Qaboos issued a royal decree naming Asaad bin Tariq as deputy prime minister, a rare instance of involving the royal family in state affairs, and a signal to some analysts that Sayyid Taimur, who was in his 60s, may be named the next sultan.
Sayyid Taimur bin Asad bin Tariq al-Said (born c. 1980) is a second cousin of Sultan Qaboos. Sayyid Taimur Asaad bin Tariq is considered by many Omanis to be the leading candidate in his generation for the succession, particularly if that transition takes place after his father and uncles (the "bin Tariqs," long seen as leading contenders) have passed the age when they would be considered viable successors. His father, Sayyid Asad, carries out official public duties as Representative of His Majesty; his uncles include Sayyid Haitham (Minister of Heritage and Culture) and Sayyid Shihab (Adviser to the Sultan and former commander of the navy). Together, the three are the most prominent of the six "bin Tariq" brothers.
Sayyid Taimur is married to Salma bint Mustahail bin Ahmed al-Mashani. Her father is the brother and senior surviving male relative of the Sultan's revered late mother, Shaikha Mazoon. Their 2004 marriage was among the highest-profile royal events in recent years. Its lavishness led to its being referred to by Muscatis with good-natured sarcasm as "Alf Laila wa Laila" ("The 1001 Nights"). The festivities, which were largely funded by and some of which were attended by the Sultan, included fireworks displays and four days of parties and receptions. It is widely believed that the match was made personally by the Sultan and that it has markedly strengthened Sayyid Taimur,s position within his generation of the family.
Sayyid Taimur is associated with (but held no official title at) the Oman Research Council, handling international conferences and presiding at public events. Observed in action at a spring 2007 mathematics conference, he was well-spoken and at ease with the academic lecturers (including Americans) present. His other professional associations include serving on the Board of Directors of Bank Dhofar, one of the largest financial institutions in the country. He presides at occasional official events that call for the presence of a royal, but not a senior-most one. As such, he is significantly more familiar to Omanis via the media than most of his generation.
In person, Sayyid Taimur is personable, affable, and informal. Something over six feet tall, he is markedly overweight but apparently vigorous. His English, while strongly accented for an elite young Omani (many of whom speak with virtually no trace of Arabic accent), is fluent. He is a fixture of Muscat's limited nightlife, including both private parties and bars and nightclubs. He drives himself in a late-model BMW whose license plate is "1 HH". He has made only two brief trips to the U.S., one as a child to Houston for unspecified medical reasons and one in recent years to Washington DC only.
A graduate of Muscat International School (rather than the more elite - but more academically challenging - Sultan's School), Sayyid Taimur spent four years in higher education in the United Kingdom. He studied in Brighton and in Galashiels in the Scottish lowlands before finishing his undergraduate studies at the (unaccredited) American College of London. He was, by his own admission, not a diligent student. In conversation, he notes having failed several courses and, as a result, having taken his degree in public relations rather than international affairs.
Sayyid Taimur is not infrequently mentioned as a possible successor to Sultan Qaboos in the event that he rules for much longer and the family looks to skip the likely candidates among the current generation. The unusual involvement of the Sultan in Taimur's marriage suggests not only the Sultan's tacit blessing of the young prince, but also more indirectly of the prince's father, Sayyid Asad. Regardless of the Sultan's intentions, however, this very atypical public blessing of a royal has convinced many Omanis that Taimur enjoys a special place among royals.
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