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Haitham bin Tariq
هَيْثَم بْن طَارِق
A photo of Haitham aged 65
Haitham in 2020
Sultan of Oman
Reign 11 January 2020 – present
Predecessor Qaboos bin Said
Heir apparent Theyazin bin Haitham
Prime Minister and
Minister of Defence
Assumed office
11 January 2020
Deputy Fahd bin Mahmoud Al Said
Asa'ad bin Tariq Al Said
Shihab bin Tariq Al Said
Preceded by Qaboos bin Said
Minister of Heritage and Culture
In office
March 2002 – 1 March 2020
Prime Minister Qaboos bin Said
Himself
Succeeded by Salem bin Mohammed Al Mahrouqi
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
11 January 2020 – 18 August 2020
Prime Minister Himself
Preceded by Qaboos bin Said
Succeeded by Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Al Busaidi
Minister of Finance
In office
11 January 2020 – 18 August 2020
Prime Minister Himself
Preceded by Qaboos bin Said
Succeeded by Sultan bin Salem bin Saeed al-Habsi
Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
In office
1994–2002
Prime Minister Qaboos bin Said
Undersecretary of the Foreign Ministry for Political Affairs
In office
1986–1994
Prime Minister Qaboos bin Said
Born (1955-10-11) 11 October 1955 (age 68)
Muscat, Muscat and Oman
Spouse
Ahad bint Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Busaidiyah
​
(m. 1989)​
Issue
  • Sayyid Theyazin bin Haitham
  • Sayyid Bilarab bin Haitham
  • Sayyida Thuraya bint Haitham
  • Sayyida Omaima bint Haitham
Full name
Haitham bin Tariq bin Taimur bin Faisal bin Turki bin Said Al Said
House Al Said
Father Sayyid Tariq bin Taimur
Mother Shawana bint Hamud bin Ahmad Al-Busaidiyah
Religion Ibadi Islam

Haitham bin Tariq Al Said (Arabic: هَيْثَم بْن طَارِق آل سَعِيد, romanized: Hayṯam bn Ṭāriq ʾĀl Saʿīd; born 11 October 1955) is Sultan and Prime Minister of Oman.

Haitham was born in Muscat and is a grandson of Sultan Taimur bin Feisal. Sultan Qaboos bin Said was a cousin of Haitham, and Haitham served for multiple decades in Qaboos's cabinet. He was Minister of Heritage and Culture from 2002 to 2020. Sultan Qaboos named him as his successor in his will. Haitham was proclaimed sultan on 11 January 2020, hours after Qaboos's death.

Early life

Haitham bin Tariq is a son of Sayyid Tariq bin Taimur, son of Sultan Taimur bin Feisal. Haitham has six brothers and two half-sisters (Amal and Nawwal who is the former wife of Sultan Qaboos). His brother Asa'ad bin Tariq is the Deputy Prime Minister for relations and international cooperation affairs and his brother Shihab bin Tariq is the Deputy Prime Minister for defense affairs (and the father of his daughter-in-law, Meyyan). His other brothers, Talal, Qais, Adham, and Faris, are all businessmen and are not involved in politics. He has four children, two sons and two daughters. His eldest son, Theyazin bin Haitham, is the crown prince of Oman. He attended Pembroke College, University of Oxford, graduating from the Foreign Service Programme (FSP) in 1979.

Political career

A sports enthusiast, Haitham served as the first head of the Oman Football Association in the early 1980s. He served as the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Political Affairs from 1986 to 1994, and was later appointed as the Secretary General for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1994–2002). He was later appointed as Minister of Heritage and Culture in March 2002 and later chaired the national census committee in 2003. He usually represented Oman abroad in a diplomatic capacity; in 2016, he personally welcomed Charles, Prince of Wales, and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, on a visit to Oman.

Haitham is also chairman of the committee for the future vision of "Oman 2040" along with being honorary president of the Oman Association for the Disabled.

Sultan of Oman

Secretary Pompeo Meets with the Sultan of Oman Haitham bin Tariq Al Said (49565463757)
Haitham bin Tariq (right) meets with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Muscat, February 2020.
Theyazin and Haitham
Sultan Haitham is saluted by his son, Crown Prince Theyazin bin Haitham (right), following the latter's graduation from Sandhurst in July 2022.

After the death of Sultan Qaboos, Haitham's first cousin, on 10 January 2020, Haitham was named by the royal family and Qaboos's will as Sultan of Oman the next day and took an oath before an emergency session of the Council of Oman in Al-Bustan. Oman state TV said the former sultan's letter was opened by the Defence Council and his identity was announced shortly thereafter. As sultan, he also held the positions of prime minister, supreme commander of the armed forces, minister of defence, minister of finance, minister of foreign affairs and chairman of the Central Bank of Oman until 18 August 2020 when he appointed Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Al Busaidi as foreign minister, Sultan bin Salem bin Saeed al-Habsi as minister of finance, and Taimur bin Asa'ad al Said as chairman of the Central Bank of Oman.

In his first public speech, he promised to uphold his predecessor's peace-making foreign policy and to further develop Oman's economy. Haitham bin Tariq is married and, unlike his predecessor, also has children, two sons and two daughters.

On 12 January 2021, the Sultan issued a royal decree appointing his eldest son, Sayyid Theyazin, as the country's first crown prince. He also changed the Basic Law of Oman to grant citizens and residents freedom of expression and opinion, removed a law that allowed the state to monitor private phone conversations, social media or postal correspondence, and granted the freedom to practice religious rites according to recognized customs provided it does not violate the public order or contradict morals.

In May and June 2021, there were many protests against the Omani government over economic concerns such as unemployment and corruption. Some protesters were arrested and then released.

Haitham's visits to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Kingdom have been seen as a move to maintain peaceful and cordial relations with Oman's important partners. His visit to Saudi Arabia was the first political visit by an Omani royal to the kingdom in over a decade. During his visit to the United Kingdom, he met Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle and was honoured with a GCMG. On 19 September 2022, Haitham attended the state funeral of Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey, London.

Honours

Styles of
Sultan Haitham bin Tariq
National emblem of Oman.svg
Reference style His Majesty
Spoken style Your Majesty

Foreign honours

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Haitham bin Tariq Al Said para niños

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