Personal life
Sayyid Qaboos bin Al Said, a renowned Muslim leader and Sultan of Oman born on November 18, 1940, and died January 10, 2020 (79 years). During a palace coup in 1970, he overthrew his father to come into power. Sultan Qaboos belongs to a traditional ruled Ibadi denomination. Sultan Qaboos married Kamila on March 22, 1976, who was his first cousin, but this marriage ended in divorce in 1979. After the sorrowful divorce, he never married again, and he has no children (Bornrich). Sultan Qaboos has proved himself a moderate Muslim as he allowed the people of Oman a religious liberty not only for the Muslims but also for non-Muslims. Four Protestant and Catholic churches have been built in Oman only because of financing of Sultan Qaboos. He has also promoted music culture in the country, particularly classical music. Sultan Qaboos, a man of culture and absolute ruler of Oman, likes to play lute and organ. He is a composer and has his own world-famous symphony orchestra. He is an open-hearted person, so brutality of Iran and vulgarity of Dubai are far away from his personality and style. He has good relationships with the west, particularly with Britain (Whitaker).
Education
Sultan Qaboos received his early education in Oman. For the accomplishment of his studies, his father, Said bin Taimur, sent him to England in September 1958 at the age of 18. He got admission to the Royal Academy at Sandhurst and after two years passed out as an officer. He spent about six months in Germany as a trainee in leadership skills after joining the first Battalion of British Infantry Regiment. After returning to England, he studied local government systems and completed administration courses. Sultan Qaboos returned to Oman in 1964 and started to live with his family in Salalah. He tried to learn more about history and civilization of his beloved country and Islamic Shari’ah law. Without holding an official position, he met officials and senior Omani Shaikhs, when they came to see his father (GlobalSecurity).
Achievements
The achievements of Sultan Qaboos are remarkable. For the objective of improving the living of his people, he launched and completed many development projects. He built many hospitals, opened hundreds of educational institutions, constructed highways, and provided many other services to his people. He adopted and implemented economic plans to minimize the dependency on oil as the only source of revenue for the country. Sultan Qaboos, not only worked for the economic development of Oman but he also accelerated the improvement of political and social development in the country. A Cabinet of Ministers was established to perform the executive roles to run affairs of government on a regular basis. He transformed Oman into a modern state with the help of Omanis people. Strong relationships between the private sector and government and empowerment of citizens made it possible to build a modern welfare state in the reign of Sultan Qaboos. Another achievement of Sultan Qaboos is the establishment of Arab Gulf Cooperation Council as he believes in regional cooperation of Arab countries (Bureau).
Work Cited
Bornrich. “Qaboos bin said al said Net Worth.” Bornrich. Bornrich, 2016. Web.21 October 2017. http://www.bornrich.com/qaboos-bin-al.html.
Bureau. “Oman celebrates 45 years of glorious achievements.” Oman Economic Review. Oman Economic Review, 18 November 2015. Web. 21 October 2017. http://oeronline.com/economy/oman-celebrates-45-years-of-glorious-achievements.html.
GlobalSecurity. “Sultan Qaboos bin Said – 1970-20xx.”GlobalSecurity.org. GlobalSecurity.org, 2016. Web. 21 October 2017. https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/gulf/oman-qaboos.htm.
Whitaker, Brian. “Oman’s Sultan Qaboos: a classy despot.” The Guardian. The Guardian, 4 March 2011. Web.21 October 2017. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/mar/04/oman-sultan-qaboos-despot.