HIS MAGESTY SULTAN QABOOS BIN SAID AL SAID

 Majesty was born in Salalah in Dhofar. The southern region of Oman, on the 18^th of November 1940. He is the only son of the late Sultan Said bin Taimur and is eighth in the direct line of the Al Busaidi dynasty, which was founded in 1744 by Imam Ahmad bin Said, who was a leader of outstanding ability and came to power after a period of civil war, bringing peace and stability to the land. 

 Like his famous ancestor Sultan Qaboos took over a country in stagnation and conflict; but his early life gave no hint of what was to come. His Majesty spent his youth in Salalah where he was educated. At the age of 16, his father sent him to a private education establishment in England. In 1960 he entered the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst as and officer cadet. Having passed out of Sandhurst he joined a British infantry battalion on operational duty in Germany for one year and also held a staff appointment with the British Army.

   After his military service His Majesty studied local government in England and went on a world tour before returning home. The next six years were spent in Salalah studying Islam and the history of his country and people.

    On the abdication of his father and his own accession on 23^rd July 1970, His Majesty arrived in Muscat to begin the task for which he had been destined. On the 9^th August Sultan Qaboos made the first of many speeches setting out his vision for the people and the country. He declared that the country would have a new flage and that it would no longer be called “Muscat and Oman” but unified with Dhofar as the Sultanate of Oman. Restriction on freedom of movement were lifted and Omanis who had left the country were invited to return to take part in the challenge that lay ahead.

     Many world leaders and statesmen have since praised the qualities of His Majesty: his dedication to his country and to his people; his commitment and unswerving determination to achieve progress and development; his role on the world stage and his work for peace and human rights.

     In a speech made to young officers at a passing-out parade, His Majesty said of his own military training:-

    “I know that the values that I absorbed have remained with me forever afterwards. I learned that discipline is not just something one imposes on others: it is something that one has, above all, to apply to oneself if one is to be a worthy leader of men. I learned also the true meaning of service: that it is to give and not to expect to receive: that it is the team and not onseslf that matters. I learned that with responsibility comes obligation”