Unlike the heads of other
Arab states of the Persian Gulf, Qaboos has not publicly named an
heir. Article 6 of the
constitution says the royal family should choose a new sultan within three days of the position falling vacant. If the royal family council fails to agree, a letter containing a name penned by Sultan Qaboos should be opened in the presence of a defence council of military and security officials, supreme court chiefs, and heads of the two quasi-parliamentary advisory assemblies.[SUP]
[19][/SUP] Analysts see the rules as an elaborate means of sultan Qaboos securing his choice for successor without causing controversy by making it public during his lifetime, since it is considered unlikely that the royal family would be able to agree on a successor on its own.[SUP]
[19][/SUP]
Qaboos has no children; there are other male members of the Omani royal family including several paternal uncles and their families. Using same-generation
primogeniture, the successor to Qaboos would appear to be the children of his late uncle, Sayyid Tariq bin Taimur Al Said, Oman's first prime minister before the sultan took over the position himself (and his former father-in-law).[SUP]
[20][/SUP] Oman watchers believe the top contenders to succeed Qaboos are three of Tariq's sons: Assad bin Tariq Al Said, the personal representative of the Sultan; Shihab bin Tariq, a retired naval commander; and
Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, the Minister of Heritage and National Culture.[SUP]
[19][/SUP][SUP]
[21][/SUP] First Deputy Prime Minister
Fahd bin Mahmud al-Said, a distant cousin of the Sultan, and Taimur bin Assad, the son of Assad bin Tariq, are also mentioned as potential candidates.[SUP]
[19][/SUP]