| |
Sultan Qaboos ibn Sa‘id was born in Salalah in Dhofar on 18 November 1940. He is the only son of Sultan Sa‘id bin Taymur and is one of the 8th generation of the Al Bu Sa‘idi dynasty. He received his primary and secondary education in Salalah and at Pune, India and attended a private educational establishment in England from the age of sixteen. At 20 he entered the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. After graduating from Sandhurst, he joined a British Infantry regiment, The Cameronians, and served in the 1st Battalion in Germany for one year. He also held a staff appointment with the British Army.
After his military service, Sultan Qaboos studied local government subjects in England and, after a world tour, returned home to Salalah where he studied Islam and the history of his country.
Rise to power
For six years prior to Said bin Taymur's overthrow, Qaboos experienced virtual house arrest in the royal palace of Salalah. In July 1970, soldiers supporting Qaboos clashed with forces loyal to Said bin Taymur, and deposed him.[3] Qaboos maintains that his father abdicated the throne.[4] The British government helped to consolidate Qaboos' power.
Qaboos acceded to the throne on 1970-07-23, moving to Muscat. There he declared that the country would no longer be known as Muscat and Oman, but would change its name to "the Sultanate of Oman" in order to better reflect its political unity.
The first pressing problem that Qaboos bin Said faced as Sultan was an armed communist insurgency from South Yemen, the Dhofar Rebellion (1965–1975). The Sultanate eventually defeated the incursion with help from Iran, British special forces, and the Royal Air Force.
| |