Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, Sultan of Oman

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, Sultan of Oman; Credit – Wikipedia

Arabic Naming Conventions

  • Al – family/clan of…
  • bin or ibn – son of…
  • bint – daughter of…

Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, Sultan of Oman was born on October 11, 1954, in Muscat, the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman, now the Sultanate of Oman. His father Tariq bin Taimur Al Said was the son of Taimur bin Feisal, Sultan of Muscat and Oman who reigned from 1913 until 1932 when he abdicated in favor of his eldest son Said bin Taimur Al Said, Sultan of Oman, the father of the late Sultan Qaboos of Oman. Haitham’s mother was Shawana bint Hamud bin Ahmad Al-Busaidiyah, the first of his father’s three wives.

Haitham has six brothers (listed first) and two sisters. Because his father had three wives some of these siblings are half-siblings.

  • Talal bin Tariq (born 1947), married Tahira (from Turkey), had four children
  • Qais bin Tariq (1952 – 2011), married Susan Schafer (Princess Sayyida Susan Al-Sa’id), had four children
  • Asad bin Tariq (born 1954), Deputy Prime Minister of Oman since 2017, married Na’emah bint Badr Al-Busa’idiyah, had five children
  • Shihab bin Tariq (born 1956), married ? , had six children
    Adham bin Tariq (born 1959), married ?, had three children
  • Fares bin Tariq (1961 – 1982)
  • Amal bint Tariq (born 1950) married a Lebanese national
  • Nawal bint Tariq (Kameela) (born 1951), married Qaboos, Sultan of Omanin 1976, divorced 1979, no children

In 1979, Haitham graduated from the Oxford University’s Foreign Service program and then continued his postgraduate studies at Pembroke College, Oxford.

Haitham’s wife Ahad bint Abdullah bin Hamad Al Busaidia, 2021; Credit – By مداد عمان – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=103975696

Haitham married Ahad bint Abdullah bin Hamad Al Busaidia and the couple had two sons and two daughters:

On January 11, 2021, Theyazin bin Haitham, the eldest son of Sultan Haitham, became the Sultanate’s first Crown Prince following constitutional amendments approved by Sultan Haitham.

Haitham was the President of the Oman Football  Association (soccer) from 1983 to 1986. In 1986, Haitham joined the Omani Ministry for Foreign Affairs and held the following positions in the Omani government:

  • Under Secretary 1986-1992
  • Under Secretary for Political Affairs 1992-1996
  • Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs 1996-2002
  • Minister for Heritage & Culture 2002-2020

Before January 11, 2021, the succession to the throne was handled in a somewhat unusual way. Upon the death of the Sultan, the royal family council was charged with naming his successor within three days. If they were unable to agree upon their choice, there was a sealed envelope from the late Sultan naming his personal choice to succeed him.  On January 11, 2020, the day after the death of Sultan Qaboos of Oman, Haitham’s first cousin, Haitham was named as Sultan of Oman after a sealed letter from Qaboos was opened identifying whom he wished to take his place. On the same day, Haitham was sworn in as the Sultan of Oman during an emergency session of the Council of Oman at the Al-Bustan Palace in Muscat, Oman. In his first public speech, Sultan Haitham promised to continue Sultan Qaboos’ peace-making foreign policy and to further develop Oman’s economy.

Embed from Getty Images 
Sultan Haitham speaks during the swearing-in ceremony

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Works Cited

  • Ar.wikipedia.org. (2020). هيثم بن طارق آل سعيد. [online] Available at: https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%87%D9%8A%D8%AB%D9%85_%D8%A8%D9%86_%D8%B7%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%82_%D8%A2%D9%84_%D8%B3%D8%B9%D9%8A%D8%AF [Accessed 12 Jan. 2020]. (Haitham, Sultan of Oman in Arabic)
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2020). Haitham bin Tariq Al Said. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haitham_bin_Tariq_Al_Said [Accessed 12 Jan. 2020].
  • Royalark.net. (2020). Oman Genealogy. [online] Available at: https://www.royalark.net/Oman/oman9.htm [Accessed 12 Jan. 2020].