The Royal Office ( ar, مكتب السلطاني)
transliterated
Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus '' trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → , Cyrillic → , Greek → the digraph , Armenian → or ...
: ''maktab al sultani'' is one of the most senior and therefore powerful ministries in the
Sultanate of Oman
Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...
. It is a government body that has most influence in national security and intelligence issues and the minister in charge has been the de facto
national security advisor A national security advisor serves as the chief advisor to a national government on matters of security. The advisor is not usually a member of the government's cabinet but is usually a member of various military or security councils.
National sec ...
to the Sultan. The Palace Office also acts as a foreign liaison focus on all international intelligence and security matters.
The minister holding the post has the full title Minister of the Royal Office and Head of the Office of the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. The Royal Office Minister also member of The Defence Council. The Defence Council is an extra-parliamentary body tasked with coordinating the actions of the country's various security and armed forces.
The current Minister of the Royal Office is General Sultan bin Mohammed al Nua'mani (appointed in 2011); he had been Secretary General of the Royal Court Affairs. Nasser bin Hamoud al Kindi took over the latter post.
The Royal Office is located in
Qurum
Qurum (; also written Qurm) is an upscale suburb of Muscat in Oman.
Its main attractions are the Qurum Natural Park, the Qurum City Centre and the Qurum Beach.
Qurm Nature Reserve
Qurum is the site of Qurm Nature Reserve, a national natur ...
. Its nearest government agency neighbor being the
Internal Security Service
Internal Security Service (ISS; ar, جهاز الأمن الداخلي, transliterated: ''Jahaz al Amn al Dakhly'') is the national security agency of the Sultanate of Oman. The agency focuses solely upon domestic security while foreign intellig ...
(ISS), also based in Qurum (Post Code 112).
History
Although the Palace Office as is may not have been established until the 1980s there is evidence that British advisors had begun the work of setting the office up as early as 1972. Certainly influential characters such as Brigadier Sir
Timothy Landon and Sheilagh Bailey were critical in developing the early functionality of what would become the Palace Office. It was particularly important that the small nucleus of trusted advisors made arrangements to secure the ruler of Oman in the 1970s and establish contacts with neighboring states to ensure their cooperation.
Office functions
The functions of the Minister of the Palace Office are:
#To head the office of the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.
#Be a lead member of the Sultanate's Defense Committee.
#Oversee the functions of special security capabilities within the Sultanate (e.g. the ISS and
Sultan's Special Forces
The Sultan's Special Force (SSF) — Arabic: قوات السلطان الخاصة, transliterated: ''Qawat al-Sultaniya al-Khasah'' is a separate force branch within the Sultan's Armed Forces (SAF) and although equipped to carry out land defe ...
)
#Act as external liaison to international intelligence and security agencies.
#Act with the
Royal Oman Police
The Royal Oman Police (ROP), also known as Oman Police ( ar, شرطة عمان السلطانية), is the main law and order agency for the Sultanate of Oman. It maintains a helicopter fleet and also carries on the duties of safeguarding the long ...
and ISS to form and implement anti-corruption policy in the Sultanate.
National security challenges
It seems certain that the main National Security Challenges affecting Oman are internal rather than external and an attempted
coup d'etat in 2005, which was easily quashed and street unrest in the spring of 2011 and later in 2012, all point to a simmering unrest with the status quo.
In early March 2011 HM Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said decided to replace two key ministers who were seen by many as not keeping in touch with young Omanis not benefiting from Oman's national advances. The long-standing favorite advisor of the Sultan General Ali bin Majid al Maamari was replaced by the relatively unknown and younger General Sultan bin Mohammed al Nua'mani. The current Minister's remit appears unchanged.
The Sultanate has also experienced challenges in maintaining its neutrality in the conflict in neighboring
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
. It has been accused by its
GCC partners of not being genuinely neutral and favoring the
Houthi
The Houthi movement (; ar, ٱلْحُوثِيُّون ''al-Ḥūthīyūn'' ), officially called Ansar Allah (' ''Partisans of God'' or ''Supporters of God'') and colloquially simply Houthis, is an Islamist political and armed movement that ...
rebels.
Past Palace Office ministers
* HE General Ali bin Majid al Maamari (1985 – March 2011)
See also
*
Cabinet of Oman
The Cabinet of Oman is the chief executive (government), executive body of the Oman, Sultanate of Oman. Sultan Haitham bin Tariq, himself is the Prime Minister.
Cabinet
His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tariq on 16/06/2022 issued Royal Decree 34/2022 ...
*
2011 Omani protests
The 2011 Omani protests (also called the Omani Spring) were a series of protests in the Persian Gulf country of Oman that occurred as part of the revolutionary wave popularly known as the "Arab Spring".
The protesters demanded salary increases, ...
*
Human rights in Oman
Oman is an absolute monarchy in which all legislative, executive (government), executive, and judiciary power ultimately rests in the hands of the hereditary sultan, and in which the system of laws is based firmly on the monarchs made laws. Altho ...
*
Internal Security Service
Internal Security Service (ISS; ar, جهاز الأمن الداخلي, transliterated: ''Jahaz al Amn al Dakhly'') is the national security agency of the Sultanate of Oman. The agency focuses solely upon domestic security while foreign intellig ...
References
Further reading
*
{{National intelligence agencies
Government of Oman
Oman
Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...
Intelligence agencies