Qaboos bin Said al Said
Oman, whose population as of 2018 of 4.8 million includes about two million non-citizens, has been an independent sultanate since 1650 and has been governed by the Al Bu Sa'id family since the 18th century. Qaboos bin Said al Said, who attained power by overthrowing his father, ruled from 1970 to 2020 and "followed a path of careful and gradual development and modernization", eliminating many of the "harsh restrictions on various personal freedoms" that were enforced under his father's regime and granting amnesty to many of its opponents.