Sultan Qaboos, ruler of Oman for almost 50 years, has died

HIS FUNERAL is likely to be a scene unimaginable almost anywhere else. Among the foreign dignitaries who will mourn Sultan Qaboos of Oman, whose death was announced on January 10th, will be those from America and Iran, longtime enemies that recently traded blows in Iraq. Also present will be leaders from Israel and Palestine, whose conflict dates back even further. The rulers of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will rub shoulders with that of Qatar, a country they severed ties with years ago. The guest list alone will be a tribute to a rare statesman in a troubled region.Sultan Qaboos seized power from his father, with British help, in 1970, when he was 29. The older man ruled as a recluse: when he was deposed Oman had just three schools and 10km of paved roads. Sultan Qaboos set about modernising the state. Though not as oil-rich as its neighbours, in 2010 the United Nations ranked Oman as the country that had developed most over the previous 40 years, ahead even of China. A democrat he was not. He also held the positions of prime minister, commander of the armed forces, minister of defence, minister of finance and minister of foreign affairs.