OMAN - Sultan Qaboos Bin Said Bin Taimour Al-Said.

As the ruler since July 23, 1970, when he deposed his father Said bin Taimour, Sultan Qaboos is immensely popular in Oman. He has concentrated on modernising Oman and creating a balanced socio-economic base. In almost 36 years of his rule, Oman has been transformed from a primitive country without basic infrastructure to one of the most important states in the region. This has been done in an environment of political stability since 1970. Credit for most achievements is attributed to the multi-disciplinary personality of Qaboos, a personality with insight into several cultures. Alert to changes across the globe, he has been quick to perceive new tendencies emerging since the end of the Cold War. He is a sensitive man, gentle but very shrewd, benevolent towards his people and magnanimous to critics.

The Sultan is calculatingly generous as a ruler, bold as a planner but cautious as a strategist, fiercely independent as a geo-politician and a master in the art of manipulation. A pragmatic thinker, he is cool in the face of danger and has a unique ability to perceive risks. He is liberal yet very conscious of Oman's socio-religious traditions.

Qaboos controls decision making in all the sectors. He personally ratifies important E&P contracts for oil or gas and related major projects. While he often listens to his advisers in the petroleum sector, he tends to make up his own mind. Non-Omani "advisers" to the Sultan in the energy sector for many years have included Orin Atkins, a former chairman of Ashland Oil; Ghassan Shaker, a Saudi tycoon of Turkish origin close to the Saudi royal family; and Omar Yahya, a Libyan who has worked for Shaker. The Sultan occasionally seeks the advice of current or former CEOs of Shell and other multinationals.

Sultan Qaboos is aware of the dangers of over-dependence on oil revenues. In a national day address on Nov. 18, 1995, he said: "We have no choice but to develop the domestic economy so oil will be left with a limited share in the national income as it is a depletable source on which we should not depend for our development". He is for private participation in all spheres of industry. He and his aides had perceived the dangers of the population's very rapid growth since the mid-1980s, when the annual birth rate among Omanis was well over 4%. He launched the "Omanisation" programme at the time, together with a massive education drive, for young Omanis to replace the expatriates.

About 50% of the Omanis are aged less than 15 years; and the number of Omani school leavers and university graduates joining the job market now exceeds 40,000 per annum, compared to 22,000/year by end-1995. Officials had warned in late 1995 that the number would more than double by 2002, because of the big ratio of children in the Omani population. This could cause the problem of unemployment to become serious. Sultan Qaboos has a number of advisers helping him in the Omanisation programme. Among these is Yakzan bin Talib al-Hina'i, who is a key proponent of Omanisation.

In regional politics, Qaboos is an astute strategist, always promoting good neighbourly relations. He maintained good ties with Iran during the 1980-88 war, with Saddam's Iraq during and after the 1990-91 Gulf crisis, and with Jordan (the late King Hussein having been a friend of the Sultan) at a time when Amman was isolated by the rest of the GCC. Within the GCC, Sultan Qaboos positions Oman in a balancing role opposite Saudi Arabia.

A strong supporter of the Middle East peace process, he decided in 1994 that Oman should be the first in the GCC to host Arab-Israeli talks. Multilateral talks on water were held in Muscat on April 17-20, 1994. He invited, and received, Israeli Premier Rabin in Muscat in December 1994. He sent Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Yusef bin Alawi bin Abdullah to Israel for the funeral of Rabin, who was assassinated by a Jewish extremist on Nov. 4, 1995. He sent bin Alawi to the anti-terrorism summit at Sharm el-Shaikh on March 13, 1996. On April 1, 1996 he received Premier Peres in Muscat. But he ordered a freeze in contacts with Israel after Likud leader Netanyahu became prime minister in June 1996, because of his government's negative approach to peace with the Arabs. Qaboos has been frustrated by the behaviour of Israel since then.