He worked in the Ministry of Defense under the Communists, is a graduate of the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, and has studied in the United States.

NEWYORKER: After America

In Qatar, the first course of a British-run staff college is due to begin this September and Kuwait has just chosen the UK to help run its own equivalent of the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst.

BBC: 'East of Suez': Are UK forces returning?

The current sultan trained as an officer at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the UK and served in the British Army in the early 1960s.

ECONOMIST: Oman preserves friendly ties with both Iran and the West