Editing Qaboos bin Said (section)

==Succession==
[[File:Sultan Qaboos's Last Will.jpg|thumb|318x318px|The will of Sultan Qaboos, in which he named his cousin Haitham bin Tariq his heir]]
Unlike the heads of other [[Arab states of the Persian Gulf]], Qaboos did not publicly name an [[heir apparent|heir]]. Article 6 of the [[Basic Statute of Oman|constitution]] says the Royal Family Council has three days to choose a new sultan from the date the position falls vacant. If the Royal Family Council fails to agree, a letter containing a name penned by Sultan Qaboos should be opened in the presence of the Defence Council of military and security officials, supreme court chiefs, and heads of the upper and lower houses of the consultative assemblies.<ref name="Dokoupil">{{cite news|last=Dokoupil|first=Martin|title=Succession Question Fuels Uncertainty in Oman|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-oman-succession/succession-question-fuels-uncertainty-in-oman-idUSBRE84N0K420120524|access-date=16 March 2021|newspaper=Reuters|date=24 May 2012}}</ref> Analysts saw the rules as an elaborate means of Qaboos securing his choice for successor without causing controversy by making it public during his lifetime, since it was considered unlikely that the royal family would be able to agree on a successor on its own.<ref name="Dokoupil" />

Qaboos had no children, and only one sister, Sayyida Umaima (who predeceased him in 2002), but no male siblings; there are other male members of the Omani royal family including paternal uncles and their families. Using same-generation [[primogeniture]], the successor to Qaboos would appear to be the children of his late uncle [[Tariq bin Taimur Al Said| Sayyid Tariq bin Taimur]], Oman's first prime minister and the Sultan's former father-in-law. Oman watchers believed the top contenders to succeed Qaboos were three of Tariq's sons: [[Asa'ad bin Tariq Al Said|Asa'ad bin Tariq]], Deputy Prime Minister<ref name="LfL9Y">{{Cite journal|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2017/0417/In-Oman-a-train-of-succession-mystery-Who-follows-Qaboos|title=In Oman, a train-of-succession mystery: Who follows Qaboos?|date=17 April 2017|journal=Christian Science Monitor}}</ref> for International Relations and Cooperation<ref name="jtukv">{{Cite news|url=https://timesofoman.com/article/130858|title=Here is why Social Development Ministry honoured 32 private firms|work=Times of Oman|access-date=2018-12-01|language=en-GB}}</ref> and the Sultan's special representative; [[Shihab bin Tariq Al Said|Shihab bin Tariq]], a retired commander of the [[Royal Navy of Oman]]; and [[Haitham bin Tariq]], Minister of Heritage and National Culture.<ref name="Dokoupil" /><ref name="dugyF">{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-50902476|title=Sultan Qaboos of Oman dies aged 79|date=11 January 2020|access-date=11 January 2020|language=en-GB}}</ref>

On 11 January 2020, Oman state TV said the Royal Family Council, in a letter to the Defense Council, had decided to defer to the choice that Qaboos named in his will, and thus had opened the letter by Qaboos naming his successor, announcing shortly that Haitham bin Tariq is the country's ruling sultan.<ref name="v6fty">{{Cite web|url=https://apnews.com/9ca4a9910ede3e11b2fbf085189e628b|title=Oman names culture minister as successor to Sultan Qaboos|date=11 January 2020|website=AP NEWS|access-date=11 January 2020}}</ref> Haitham has two sons and two daughters.<ref name="oXnU3">{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-oman-sultan-newsmaker-idUSKBN1ZA0KV|title=Oman's new ruler chosen to provide continuity|newspaper=Reuters|date=11 January 2020|via=www.reuters.com}}</ref><ref name="KfGIN">{{Cite web|url=https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/444092/Who-is-the-new-Sultan-of-Oman|title=Who is the new Sultan of Oman?|date=13 January 2020|website=Tehran Times}}</ref>