Haitham bin Tarik Al Said

Haitham bin Tariq Al Said (born 11 October 1955) is Sultan and Prime Minister of Oman. He acceded to the throne in 2020 following the death of his cousin, Sultan Qaboos bin Said, becoming the fifteenth ruler of the Al Bu Said dynasty, which has ruled Oman since the mid-eighteenth century.

Haitham was born in Muscat to Sayyid Tariq bin Taimur, an uncle of Sultan Qaboos who served as his first Prime Minister from 1970 to 1972. He received his primary education at Al Saidiya School in Muscat before continuing his secondary and university studies in the United Kingdom. In 1979, he graduated from the University of Oxford's Foreign Service Programme and later pursued postgraduate studies at Pembroke College, Oxford. Beginning in 1986, Haitham served varying positions in the Cabinet of Oman under Sultan Qaboos, most notably as Minister of Heritage and Culture.

Since becoming Sultan, Haitham has largely continued his predecessor's domestic and foreign policy, which saw Oman develop into a stable, modern country. In 2021, he reaffirmed citizens' and residents' freedom of expression and opinion in a revamp of Oman's Basic Statute, while making reforms aimed at further modernizing the state, strengthening public finances, diversifying the economy, and improving government efficiency under Oman Vision 2040.

In foreign affairs, Haitham has maintained Oman's longstanding policy of neutrality, dialogue, and non-interference in regional disputes. Oman has continued to act as a mediator in diplomatic efforts involving neighboring states and international powers, preserving its reputation as a country capable of facilitating communication between parties with competing interests. Under his leadership, Omani diplomacy helped facilitate a ceasefire agreement between the United States and the Houthi movement, providing to a halt in attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea and U.S. military operations against Houthi targets, in addition to hosting negotiations between the United States and Iran that preceded the 2026 Iran war.