In pictures: Opening of the Will of Sultan Qaboos

Oman's Sultan Qaboos Bin Said died on Friday evening, and a three-day period of national mourning was declared. The ruling family council met on Saturday morning to select the new ruler.

The council, out of respect for the late Sultan Qaboos, decided to open the sealed Will, in front of senior military and security officials, heads of the Supreme Court, and presidents of the country’s two consultative bodies. The decision to open the Will was made — instead of electing the new Sultan — honoring Sultan Qaboos wishes.

The Royal Family Council has been convened took the decision to open the will. The Royal Family statement to the Army council said: “In acknowledgment, gratitude and appreciation of the late Sultan Qaboos bin Saeed, may God have mercy on him, we confirm that who Sultan Qaboos has chosen to succeed him in his Will to be the new Sultan of Oman. A belief by the Royal Family in the wisdom and the broad view of late Sultan Qaboos bin Said, and upon him the Royal Family Council authorized the Defense Council to open the will accordingly.”

The late sultan Qaboos has recommended Haitham Bin Tariq Al Said to succeed him. Sultan Haitham has taken the oath as Oman’s new leader on Saturday morning after the Will of Sultan Qaboos was opened in Al Bustan palace, just before the late Sultan was laid to rest in the capital Muscat.

Born in 1954, Sultan Haitham Bin Tariq was Minister of Heritage and Culture of the Sultanate of Oman. He is the cousin of Sultan Qaboos Bin Saeed. Sultan Haitham Bin Tariq Bin Taimur Al Said served as a special envoy to the late Sultan Qaboos Bin Said on different occasions and held various positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He served as the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Political Affairs from 1986 to 1994, and later appointed as the Secretary General for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1994–2002). In this picture, he is seen with His Highness Shaikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE.