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| Sultan of Oman dies, state media announces | Sultan of Oman dies, state media announces |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Sultan Qaboos bin Said had no children and did not publicly appoint a successor, but left name in sealed envelope if royal family cannot decide | Sultan Qaboos bin Said had no children and did not publicly appoint a successor, but left name in sealed envelope if royal family cannot decide |
| Oman’s Sultan Qaboos bin Said died on Friday evening, state media has announced. Omani television news said the council’s high military council had called the ruling family to convene and choose a new ruler. | Oman’s Sultan Qaboos bin Said died on Friday evening, state media has announced. Omani television news said the council’s high military council had called the ruling family to convene and choose a new ruler. |
| Western-backed Qaboos, 79, had ruled the Gulf Arab state since he took over in a bloodless coup in 1970 with the help of Oman’s former colonial power Britain. | Western-backed Qaboos, 79, had ruled the Gulf Arab state since he took over in a bloodless coup in 1970 with the help of Oman’s former colonial power Britain. |
| Qaboos had no children and had not publicly appointed a successor. A 1996 statute says the ruling family must choose a successor within three days of the throne becoming vacant. | Qaboos had no children and had not publicly appointed a successor. A 1996 statute says the ruling family must choose a successor within three days of the throne becoming vacant. |
| If they fail to agree, a council of military and security officials, supreme court chiefs and heads of the two assemblies will put in power a person whose name has been secretly written by the sultan in a sealed letter. | If they fail to agree, a council of military and security officials, supreme court chiefs and heads of the two assemblies will put in power a person whose name has been secretly written by the sultan in a sealed letter. |
| A three-day period of official mourning for the public and private sectors had been declared, state media said. | A three-day period of official mourning for the public and private sectors had been declared, state media said. |
| “With great sorrow and deep sadness... the royal court mourns His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, who passed away on Friday,” said a statement from the royal court. | |
| In 1970, Qaboos deposed his father in a palace coup. He had been ill for some time and was believed to be suffering from colon cancer. | |
| According to the Omani constitution, the royal family shall, within three days of the throne falling vacant, determine the successor. If the family does not agree on a name, the person chosen by Qaboos in a letter addressed to the royal family will be the successor. | |
| The Omani constitution says the sultan should be a member of the royal family, as well as “Muslim, mature, rational and the legitimate son of Omani Muslim parents”. | |
| Experts say more than 80 men meet the criteria but one name stands: Asad bin Tariq. | |
| Tariq, 65, had been appointed deputy prime minister for international relations and co-operation affairs in 2017. The move was seen as a clear message of support to the sultan’s cousin and “special representative” since 2002. | |
| Qaboos transformed the Arabian Peninsula nation from a backwater into a modern state while pursuing a moderate but active foreign policy. | |
| Having played a role in Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers while preserving its membership in the Saudi-led Gulf Co-operation Council, Oman has emerged as the Gulf’s discreet mediator. It remains to be seen whether the next ruler will take the same moderate approach in a region often in turmoil. | |
| With Reuters and AFP |