A strategically located monarchy on the southern and eastern coasts of the Arabian Peninsula; Also called: Muscat and Oman.
Country at the SE end of the Arabian peninsula, bounded W by the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen, SE by the Arabian Sea, and NE by the Gulf of Oman.
government
Oman has no written constitution, and the sultan has absolute power, ruling by decree. There is no legislature. The sultan takes advice from an appointed cabinet. There is also a consultative council (Majlis Al-Shoura) of 59 nominated members.
history
For early history, see Arabia. The city of Muscat has long been a trading post. The country was in Portugal's possession 1508–1658 and was then ruled by Persia until 1744. By the early 19th century, the state of Muscat and Oman was the most powerful in Arabia: it ruled Zanzibar until 1861 and also coastal parts of Persia and Pakistan.
independent sultanate
In 1951 it became the independent Sultanate of Muscat and Oman and signed a treaty of friendship with Britain. Said bin Taimur, who had been sultan since 1932, was overthrown by his son, Qaboos bin Said, in a bloodless coup 1970, and the country was renamed the Sultanate of Oman. Qaboos embarked on a more liberal and expansionist policy than his father. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Oman has been fighting to overthrow the sultanate since 1965.
Oman's wealth is based on a few oil fields. Conflicts in nearby countries, such as Yemen, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, and Afghanistan, have not only emphasized the country's strategic importance but put its own security at risk. The sultan has tried to follow a path of nonalignment, while maintaining close ties with the US and other countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. In 1991, as part of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Oman troops fought in Operation Desert Storm against Iraqi troops occupying Kuwait. In 1994 the government announced that women would be allowed to become members of parliament, making Oman the first Gulf state to propose awarding senior political posts to women. + prikaži više