SultanHaitham bin Tariq Al Said (Arabic:هَيْثَم بْن طَارِق آل سَعِيد,romanized: Hayṯam ibn Ṭāriq ʾĀl Saʿīd; born 11 October 1955) is theSultan and Prime Minister ofOman. He acceded to the throne in January 2020 after being named successor by his cousin,Sultan Qaboos bin Said.[1] Prior to becoming Sultan, Haitham served for several decades under Sultan Qaboos in theCabinet of Oman[2] most notably as theMinister of Heritage and Culture.[3]
A sports enthusiast, Haitham served as the first head of theOman Football Association in the early 1980s.[17] He served as the Undersecretary of theMinistry of Foreign Affairs for Political Affairs from 1986 to 1994, and was later appointed as the Secretary General for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1994–2002).[18][19] He was later appointed asMinister of Heritage and Culture in March 2002 and later chaired the national census committee in 2003.[20] He usually represented Oman abroad in a diplomatic capacity;[21] in 2016, he personally welcomed the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall (laterKing Charles III andQueen Camilla) on a visit to Oman.[22]
Haitham is also chairman of the committee for the future vision of "Oman 2040" along with being honorary president of the Oman Association for the Disabled.[23]
He was said to be the favoured candidate of Oman's merchant families with whom he is said to have links.[24]
After the death of Sultan Qaboos, Haitham's first cousin, on 10 January 2020, Haitham was named by the royal family and Qaboos's will asSultan of Oman the next day and took an oath before an emergency session of theCouncil of Oman inAl-Bustan.[25] According to Omani state TV, Qaboos's letter was opened by the Defence Council and his identity was announced shortly thereafter.[26] As sultan, he also held the positions of prime minister, supreme commander of the armed forces, minister of defence, minister of finance, minister of foreign affairs and chairman of theCentral Bank of Oman until 18 August 2020 when he appointedBadr bin Hamad Al Busaidi as foreign minister,Sultan bin Salem bin Saeed al-Habsi as minister of finance,[27][28] andTaimur bin Asa'ad Al Said as chairman of theCentral Bank of Oman.[29]
In his first public speech, he promised to uphold his predecessor'speace-making foreign policy and to further develop Oman's economy.[22][30] Haitham bin Tariq is married and, unlike his predecessor, also has children, two sons and two daughters.[31][32]
In October 2020 Oman was the first Gulf state to send an ambassador back to Syria after they downgraded or shut missions in Damascus in 2012 over attacks by the government there on protests at the start of the war.[34]
On 11 January 2021, the Sultan issued a royal decree creating aCrown Prince role, stating that Oman’s crown prince will be theeldest son of the serving sultan. This made his eldest son, Sayyid Theyazin, the country's first crown prince,[35][36] and officially formalised the method of succession. He also changed theBasic Law of Oman to grant citizens and residents freedom of expression and opinion, removed a law that allowed the state to monitor private phone conversations, social media or postal correspondence, and granted the freedom to practice religious rites according to recognised customs provided it does not violate the public order or contradict morals.[37]
In April 2021 Oman introduced itsvalue added tax, later than the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain but before Qatar and Kuwait.[38]
In May and June 2021, there were many protests against the Omani government over economic concerns such as unemployment and corruption.[39] Some protesters were arrested and then released.[40][39]
He visited Tehran in May 2023 where he discussed regional diplomatic and security issues, two days after Muscat mediated a prisoner swap between Iran and Belgium.[44]
In 2023 the government approved a $5.2 billion investment fund, the Oman Future Fund, to support diversified economic growth and announced a new development project,Sultan Haitham City.[45] In 2023 a Tourism Law was promulgated.[46]
The Medium Term Fiscal Plan for 2020–2024 proposed greater fiscal sustainability. Oman's overall fiscal deficit averaged 12.8% of gross domestic product from 2015–2020, while the budget deficit reached approximately 3.6% in 2021. Oman enjoyed a budget surplus of approximately 5% of GDP in 2022 – the country's first surplus since 2013.[47]
Oman’s long-term sovereign credit rating changed from junk status to the investment grade of BB+ in 2024.[48] In 2025Moody's upgraded Oman's long-term issuer and senior unsecured ratings to "Baa3" from "Ba1", due to expectations of continued improvement in debt ratios and resilience to lower oil prices.[49]
During the 2025Iran-Israel War, in a call with PresidentMasoud Pezeshkian, Sultan Haitham emphasised the need for de-escalation from both sides and a return to negotiations to halt the ongoing conflict and its catastrophic repercussions.[50]
In 2025 Oman become the first country in the Gulf to impose a personalincome tax. Oman, will impose a 5% tax on taxable income for individuals earning over 42,000 Omani rials ($109,091) per year starting from 2028.[52] The tax will apply to about 1% of the population. Officials said that the tax was intended to promote equity and reduce the country’s dependence on oil and gas, which made up around 70 per cent of the state revenues last year.[53] Revenue estimates for the new tax stand at less than 0.5% of GDP.[54]
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