Haitham bin Tariq

Overview

Haitham bin Tariq became sultan of Oman in January 2020 after the death of his cousin, Qaboos bin Said. Qaboos had ruled for nearly half a century without naming an heir publicly. Under Oman’s succession procedure, a prepared letter identifying his choice was opened after his death. It named Haitham, then 65. The transfer of power gave Haitham responsibility for a state closely associated with Qaboos’s personal leadership and a foreign policy built around maintaining relations with regional rivals.

Haitham took power just before two shocks to Oman’s finances: the 2020 collapse in oil prices and the COVID-19 pandemic. His government made diversification away from oil and natural gas a central economic aim. It also reorganized ministries, revised the succession system and continued Oman’s practice of diplomatic contact across regional divisions. Under Haitham, Oman maintained political contact with Israel without establishing formal diplomatic relations. A 2022 parliamentary vote to broaden restrictions on interactions with Israel illustrated the limits on public progress toward normalization.

Career

Before becoming sultan, Haitham served as Oman’s Minister of Heritage and Culture and held a senior diplomatic role as secretary-general of the Foreign Ministry. He also had early influence over the Oman Vision 2040 strategic plan. His public duties included representing Oman at Prince William’s wedding in 2011. These cultural, diplomatic and planning responsibilities formed the background to his selection as ruler, though he had not been publicly designated as Qaboos’s successor.

As Qaboos’s health declined, succession became a subject of discussion in Muscat. Haitham was one of three cousins considered possible successors, alongside his brothers Assad and Shihab bin Tariq. Qaboos’s letter resolved the question after his death in January 2020. The accession also posed a political task: Haitham had to establish his own authority within a ruling system shaped by his predecessor while preserving continuity in government and diplomacy.

The immediate economic challenge was severe. Oman depended heavily on oil and natural gas revenue and entered 2020 with earlier budget deficits and weak credit ratings. Four months after Haitham’s accession, Omani crude futures fell to $30 per barrel. At that price, the decline threatened to halve projected annual oil revenue, widen the fiscal deficit and double national debt. The pandemic compounded the pressure. Financing a larger debt under those conditions made fiscal management one of the defining issues of Haitham’s first years.

In August 2020, Haitham made extensive government appointments. He named Badr al Busaidi foreign minister, replacing the veteran Yusuf bin Alawi, who had held the post since 1997. Haitham thereby became the first sultan in modern Oman to relinquish the foreign-minister portfolio. He also appointed a new economic minister, gave his brother Shihab the post of deputy Minister of Defense, and named his son Dhi Yazan Minister of Culture, Sports, and Youth. The changes redistributed responsibilities previously concentrated around the sultan and gave close relatives prominent positions in the new administration.

Haitham subsequently revised Oman’s Basic Law and succession arrangements. The changes established a designated heir, with the sultan’s eldest son first in line, replacing a system that had relied on family agreement or a sealed letter. Dhi Yazan became heir under the new arrangement. Haitham also clarified aspects of the legislature’s governing law and changed senior military leadership. The revised Basic Law was presented as strengthening the rule of law and citizens’ participation in public affairs, while giving the sultan additional constitutional tools to oversee government executives and assess their performance.

Economic reform centered on reducing reliance on hydrocarbons and attracting foreign direct investment. Under Haitham, Oman introduced long-delayed legislation on foreign capital investment, bankruptcy and public-private partnerships. His government changed employment and visa rules, developed testing and quality standards, and added e-commerce platforms to its business-development program. Foreign investment was a key aim of the 2021–2025 Five-Year Development Plan and Oman Vision 2040. Non-oil exports rose sharply in 2021, while foreign direct investment increased by 19% in the first quarter of 2022. These measures addressed long-standing structural problems as higher oil revenue also eased immediate fiscal pressure.

Haitham invited political exiles and dynastic rivals to return to Oman, including the former sultan of Zanzibar and the family of Nizwa’s last imam. The invitations formed part of his approach to consolidating authority after a succession that had long been uncertain. His administrative changes combined a clearer hereditary succession with wider delegation of ministerial duties and closer scrutiny of economic performance.

Ideology and statements

In his first speech as sultan, Haitham pledged to continue Qaboos’s approach to national development and foreign affairs, including efforts to resolve disputes peacefully. Oman kept relations with Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United States while maintaining a mediating role among them. This balancing mattered because Oman had longstanding interests on both sides of regional rivalries, and its relationship with Iran affected prospects for more public diplomatic progress with Israel.

Oman’s contacts with Israel preceded Haitham. Israeli prime ministers Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres and Benjamin Netanyahu visited Oman under Qaboos, and the two countries had cooperated in areas including desalination and irrigation. Haitham preserved political channels with Israel, but formal normalization did not follow. Oman tied such a step to its stated support for the Arab Peace Initiative. Political contact and diplomatic recognition remained distinct aspects of the relationship.

At the end of 2022, Oman’s Consultative Assembly voted to expand legislation criminalizing relations and interactions with Israel. Its proposed amendment covered sports, cultural and economic contact, as well as in-person and online interactions. The vote was an interim parliamentary step, rather than the completion of a new law. It demonstrated that opposition to ties with Israel remained consequential even while Muscat and Jerusalem maintained political contact.

Haitham also continued Oman’s engagement with Syria. Oman reinstated its ambassador in Damascus in October 2020 and supported Syria’s return to the Arab League. In late February 2023, Haitham received Bashar al-Assad on a state visit to Oman. The meeting reflected Muscat’s willingness to maintain direct relations with Assad as Arab governments differed over Syria’s diplomatic reintegration.

One domestic controversy concerned material offered at the 2020 Muscat International Book Fair. The Anti-Defamation League wrote to Haitham warning about books promoting Jew hatred. Its letter followed an earlier alert to Omani officials identifying problematic titles before the fair. The episode placed responsibility for a state-run cultural event before a ruler who had previously served as Minister of Heritage and Culture.

Death or current status

Haitham assumed the sultanate in January 2020 and established a succession framework naming his son Dhi Yazan as heir. His tenure has been marked by the fiscal pressures of its opening months, changes to government leadership and the Basic Law, and continued pursuit of Oman Vision 2040. As sultan, he has directed domestic reform while preserving Oman’s diplomatic relationships with states whose interests often conflict.

Legacy

Haitham’s accession closed the Qaboos era without a prolonged succession dispute. Opening Qaboos’s prepared letter gave the new ruler a clear basis for taking office; Haitham’s later constitutional changes created a more explicit line of succession for the future. His August 2020 appointments also altered the distribution of senior offices, placing a foreign minister in charge of that portfolio while elevating his brother and son within the state.

His economic record is closely tied to the crisis he inherited. The oil-price collapse exposed Oman’s dependence on hydrocarbon revenue, while the pandemic intensified pressure on public finances. Investment, bankruptcy and public-private partnership laws, together with changes to visa and employment rules, were intended to support a more varied economy. Growth in non-oil exports and foreign direct investment provided early measures of that effort, though reducing structural dependence on oil and gas remained the larger aim of Oman Vision 2040.

In foreign affairs, Haitham sustained Oman’s ability to speak with Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United States while preserving contact with Israel. Oman did not enter formal normalization with Israel, and the 2022 parliamentary vote showed continuing resistance to broader ties. His reception of Assad likewise demonstrated Oman’s preference for keeping diplomatic channels open. Together, these decisions placed continuity in regional mediation alongside substantial changes in Oman’s domestic administration.