Qaboos ibn Sa’id Al ‘Bu Sa’id
Sultan of Oman

Birth:	18 November 1940 in Salalah, Dhofar
Term of Office:	23 July 1970 - present
Predecessor:	Sa’id ibn Taimur

Sayyed Qaboos ibn Sa’id Al ‘Bu Sa’id (born November 18, 1940) is the current Sultan of Oman. He rose to power after overthrowing his father, Sa’id ibn Taimur, in 1970.

As Qaboos is the Sultan of Oman, he traditionally holds absolute power. He holds the portfolios of the Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, Defense Minister and Finance Minister. Despite his wealth and power, he is generally regarded as a benevolent ruler who pursues moderate ideological goals. He is known for his selflessness and generosity, and in General Tommy Franks's 2004 book American Soldier, he described the sultan as a true friend to the United States in the War on Terror, with "no guile, no secret agenda". The Sultan is also credited with modernizing his country with modest oil profits.

The first immediate problem that Qaboos faced was an armed Communist insurgency from South Yemen. The Sultan quickly defeated the incursion with little external aid.

In the last few years, Oman has taken some steps towards democracy. Free and fair parliamentary elections (in which women have voted and stood as candidates) have been held and the Sultan has pledged greater openness and participation in government.

Much of the country's decision-making is carried out by consensus with federal, provincial, local and tribal representatives.

In 1992 (1412AH) Sultan Qaboos ordered the construction of a mosque in the wilayat of Bausher in Muscat governorate . When the Sultan came to the throne in 1970 he had built a more modest mosque in Muscat but in 1992 he called for plans to be drawn up for the largest mosque in the world. This mosque was to draw from the best of the broad range of Islamic art and architecture and not from a single country or tradition of Islam. Typical of his governing style the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque as well as over 2000 other mosques have been built entirely from the Sultan's own purse. On May 5, 2001, after four years, 600 workers, 12 million man hours of work on the main carpet alone, Qaboos bowed to pray in the largest mosque in the world on the largest hand-woven rug in the world.

See also

• List of national leaders