Sultan Qaboos of Oman, the only son of Sultan Said bin Taimur of Oman died on Friday evening. A three-day period of national mourning was declared. Qaboos was educated in England and was graduate of Royal Military Academy of Sandhurst. He had no children and had not publicly appointed a successor.
Qaboos, 79, had ruled the Gulf Arab state since he took over in a bloodless coup in 1970 after overthrowing his father, who later died in Britain in 1972 and buried there.
Haitham Bin Tariq, 65-year-old cousin of late Sultan Qaboos is sworn in as the new Sultan of Oman, today. He is graduate of Oxford University, London. Haitham is the ninth ruler of the Al Said dynasty of Oman since 1744.
Sultan Qaboos tried to maintain the old historical relationship with India. Qaboos went to airport to receive the President of India, Shankar Dayal Sharma when he visited Muscat in 1994 on an official trip. He himself drove the car with Sharma to Palace.
