After assuming power in 1970, Qabus ibn Said concentrated on restoring control over southern Dhofar region, which had been in rebellion against his father's oppressive rule. He used economic and military means, believing that poor economic conditions had helped motivate the Dhofari rebellion. By 1975 he succeeded in suppressing militarily the Marxist-inspired rebellion, and the sultan could turn to development issues and the establishment of modern governmental and administrative institutions. By the mid1980s , virtually all regions of the country were linked by a transportation system and a telecommunications network. Ministerial government and the civil service were expanded, and limited participation in the political process was created in 1981 with the establishment of the State Consultative Council and in 1991, with the formation of the Consultative Council, an advisory body that superseded the State Consultative Council.

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Source: U.S. Library of Congress