The government and people of the Sultanate of Oman, a country on the Arabian peninsula, have endowed a Kennedy School of Government (KSG) professorship in honor of their ruler, His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said.

The position, which will be known for the remainder of the Sultan's life as "The Sultan of Oman Professorship" and will thereafter bear his name, funds a professorship focused on international relations.

The professorship is only one of several new positions at the school dedicated to international relations, according to Raja M. Kamal, director of international development at KSG.

"The school is becoming more and more international," Kamal said. "The Kennedy School is the most international school at Harvard."

Kamal said the position will be filled in about two years, after KSG Dean Joseph S. Nye and Harvard President Neil L. Rudenstine conduct a search.

The Sultan has ruled Oman, a nation of 2.1 million people in the southeast part of the Arabian peninsula, since 1970.

The ruler is credited with modernizing Oman's economy and diplomacy. He also supported the 1978 Camp David Peace Accords between Egypt and Israel when many Islamic nations rejected it.

Qaboos will be honored as a John Harvard Fellow because of the gift.