November 6, 1996: Qaboos gives Oman its first constitution

His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said of Oman gave his country its first constitution which laid down the rules for succeeding him but stopped short of naming an heir. Sultan Qaboos promulgated a constitution describing the system of government as a “hereditary Sultanate”. The constitution said succession passes “among the male descendants of Sayed Turki Bin Said Bin Sultan”, the great-great grandfather of Sultan Qaboos and a descendant of the Bussaidi dynasty which founded the Sultanate in 1793. The Sultan’s successor must be “a mature and wise Muslim, a son of Omani Muslim parents,” according to the terms of the constitution. Sultan Qaboos holds the country’s key posts, serving as prime minister and the minister of defence, of finance and foreign affairs, and is commander in chief of the armed forces. The constitution allows the creation of “organisations on patriotic grounds” but not political parties and bans “military or secret groups or those which have activities hostile” to the government.

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