Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, 65, has been sworn in after Oman’s Defence Council announced he would succeed the late Sultan Qaboos as ruler of Oman.
A tweet from an Omani Government account said that he had been sworn in "after a meeting of the family" and that the decision to appoint him reflected the wishes of Sultan Qaboos.
At his swearing-in ceremony this afternoon, Sultan Haitham said that "Sultan Qaboos had built a modern nation".
Sultan Haitham’s message to Omanis and the world was clear: Oman would continue down the path laid by Sultan Qaboos as a facilitator of peace.
He vowed to "continue the journey" his predecessor had started. He also said Oman would continue the foreign policy approach adopted by the late Sultan, one based on "peaceful coexistence between nations" and on non-interference.
“We will follow the same line as the late sultan, and the principles that he asserted for the foreign policy of our country, of peaceful coexistence among nations and people, and good neighbourly behaviour of non-interference in the affairs of others,” he said in his first public remarks as sultan.
The 66-year-old shook hands with family members and top security officials before witnessing ceremonial cannon fire.
Sultan Qaboos shaped Oman’s policy of diplomatic balancing. Under his leadership, Oman was a facilitator of talks between adversaries Iran and the United States. Oman is a close ally of Washington and viewed as a valuable regional player.
Sultan Haitham, an Oxford graduate, is a career diplomat who has spent 16 years in various foreign ministry roles since 1986. He has served in a range of official positions, including undersecretary of the ministry of foreign affairs and the secretary general for the ministry of foreign affairs, as well as minister of heritage and culture.
He was also the first head of Oman's football association in the 1980s. His role as minister of national heritage and culture helped project Omani influence. He has not overseen important defence and security portfolios.
During his time at the foreign ministry, Sultan Haitham helped Yusuf bin Alawi, Oman’s minister of state for foreign affairs, formulate the country’s policy of political non-alignment. It is expected that he will continue with the same foreign policy priorities.
He has often chaired cabinet meetings is an experienced member of the ruling family. He is well known and respected among Omanis.
The death of Sultan Qaboos was announced on Saturday morning. He was 79 years old and had ruled Oman for almost 50 years. He was credited with modernising the country and in developing its unique role as a regional mediator.
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Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed is received by Sayyid Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, right, upon arriving in Muscat for an official visit in 2014. Ryan Carter / Crown Prince Court — Abu Dhabi -
Sayyid Haitham bin Tariq Al Said is seen while welcoming Britain's Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall at Bait Al Noor church in Muscat, Oman, in 2016. AP Photo -
Oman's new sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said swears in at the Royal Family Council in Muscat, Oman. Oman TV via AP -
Oman's new sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said makes his first speech in front of the Royal Family Council in Muscat, Oman. Oman TV via AP -
Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed, Vice Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, right, stands for a photograph with Sayyid Haitham bin Tariq Al Said during the opening ceremony of the Louvre Abu Dhabi in 2017. Photo by Abdullah Al Junaibi -
Sayyid Haitham bin Tariq al Said offers condolences to Sheikh Tahnoon bin Mohamed Al Nahyan, Ruler's Representative in Al Ain Region, on the passing of Sheikha Hessa bint Mohamed Al Nahyan, at Mushrif Palace in 2018. Hamad Al Kaabi / Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi -
Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development, right, and Sayyid Haitham bin Tariq al Said attend the final day of Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in Shams Tower in 2016. Ryan Carter / Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi -
Saudi Arabia's King Salman Bin Abdulaziz meets Haitham bin Tariq Al Said to receive condolences after one of his brothers, Saudi Prince Turki bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, passed away, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in 2016. Getty Images -
Sayyid Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, center right, is seen next to Britain's Prince Charles while welcoming him and his wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, at Bait Al Noor church in Muscat. AP Photo -
Sayyid Haitham bin Tariq Al Said receives Britain's Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, upon arrival in Muscat, Oman in 2019. EPA -
Britain's Prince Harry is being welcomed by Sayyid Haitham Bin Tariq Al Said upon his arrival in Oman in 2014. AFP -
Sayyid Haitham bin Tariq Al Said looks on during the Closing Ceremony at Al-Musannah Sports City on day nine of the 2nd Asian Beach Games Muscat 2010 in Muscat, Oman. Getty Images
Sultan Haitham is seen by many Omanis as the “most experienced and versatile” of the senior royals, said Sharifa Al Siyabi, an Omani political commentator.
“We support the choice of Haitham as our next sultan. What is important now is the stability of the country and for the policies of Qaboos to continue,” Ms Al Siyabi told The National.
“He is most experienced and most versatile from the royal family and he is a natural choice as the new sultan,” she said
Diplomats say that Sultan Haitham’s past record as a “political moderator” during his time in the ministry of foreign affairs had “tipped the balance” in his being named successor to Sultan Qaboos.
“He has the right background and the mental stability to be the successor of the late sultan. He has worked with foreign powers during his time in the foreign affairs ministry and is well accepted by the United States, Britain, France and Oman’s neighbours such as the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and even Iran,” a foreign diplomat based in Muscat, who did not want to be identified, told The National.
Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, a Gulf expert at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, said Sultan Haitham’s background in culture and heritage is another sign of continuity with Sultan Qaboos, whose love of culture and music was well known.
The new sultan is known in international policy circles because of his interactions with world leaders and relations with other royal families, like Britain’s Prince Charles and his wife Camilla.
This experience provided him with “the necessary political gravitas and foreign policy expertise to help steer Oman into a post-Qaboos era,” said Sigurd Neubauer, a Middle East expert, in an analysis for The Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington.
Ms Al Siyabi said Sultan Haitham would also have an “extra backing” from his older brother, Asad bin Tariq Al Said, 69, who is expected to continue his role as the Personal Representative of the Sultan of Oman.
“Haitham will always find his brother as a pillar of support in his role as Personal Representative of the Sultan. Asad was a military strategist and well versed in security matters,” she said.
The sultan's older brother is a Sandhurst graduate who served as a major general in the Omani armed forces before assuming his present position.
