Sultan Qaboos of Oman Passes Away at 79, Leaving the Arab World to Grieve a Great Loss
People across the Arab world are in grief after Oman lost the longest-serving leader in the Arab world, Sultan Qaboos bin Said. Qaboos’ death, at age 79, was announced by Oman News Agency, on Friday evening.
According to the Constitution of Oman, the Defense Council invites the Royal Family to decide on who the next Sultan will be, and the Royal family has three days to reach a consensus and choose the new sultan.
However, the late sultan, who had no known brothers or children, named his successor posthumously in a sealed letter, the Royal Family decided to honor his wishes, and Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, the late sultan’s cousin and Minister of Culture, took the oath as Oman’s new sultan, in front of Oman’s Council.
Under his five-decade-long reign, Qaboos gave women the right to vote in the 1990s, served as a neutral mediator in the region, and transformed Oman into an independent nation with a $79-billion economy, according to Bloomberg.
