Who is Dhi Yazan- Crown Prince of Oman

By choosing his eldest son Dhi Yazan as the crown prince, Sultan Haitham has wisely sided with the majority of his people. Youth represent almost half of Omanis. Instituting this method of succession allows for a constant generational shift. So who is Dhi Yazan, the new crown Prince of Oman?

Born in Aug 1990, 30-yr old Dhi Yazan is close in age to his Saudi counterpart & Qatar’s emir. He attracted attention when chosen as the youngest minister upon his father’s ascension. Not unlike his father, he is an Anglophile, soft spoken, contemplative & Oxford graduate. Bringing him early on to a gov post (youth + culture ministry) & settling a clearer succession procedure gives him ample training ground & is good news for investors, neighbors, & Oman.

Sultan Haitham is revamping Oman’s political system w/ hopes for more involvement of Omanis. In Arabic language doesn’t mean (Crown Prince), it means (Heir to the throne). Also, Oman is a Sultanate and not a Kingdom and we don’t have a title such a title (Crown Prince), our Royal titles for Members of the Royal Family: A’Sayyid (Male) – A’Sayyida (Female). Anyway, this development is quite interesting for the region too because historically this has not been clear always.

One other aspect is that it’s total shift from Qaboos administration in Oman. That regime always had a very opaque and murky process of heirs and you never knew who is going to succeed. The people always remained in confusion and even after it happened, no one was sure. For instance, Sultan Qaboos ruled for fifty good years and never really announced clearly his successor. It was actually quite a concern for the country when he fell ill.

But this Sultan has changed things. country’s constitution, known as the Basic Law, to set out a clear mechanism for the transfer of power, including the appointment of an official heir.Oman’s ruler Sultan Haitham Bin Tariq Al-Said is modern and forward looking and has made things clearer. He is also going to institute new rules for the parliament and to establish a committee to evaluate the performance of ministers and other senior officials. This is a welcome change for Omanis.