Qaboos bin Said (1940– )

Sultan of Oman, the 14th descendant of the Albusaid family. Opposed to the conservative views of his father, Said ibn Taimur, he was held under virtual house arrest from 1964, before overthrowing his father in 1970 in a bloodless coup and assuming the sultanship. Since then he has followed more liberal and expansionist policies, while maintaining his country's position of international non-alignment. He has allowed parliamentary elections in which women have stood as candidates and voted, and has invested the country's oil wealth in improved education, healthcare, and roads.

Born in Salalah in Dhofar, he was educated in India and England and trained at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. He served for one year with a British infantry regiment in Germany, before returning to Oman to study history and Islam.