Timothy Landon
Encyclopedia
Brigadier
Sir James Timothy Whittington Landon, KCVO
, (born 20 August 1942, Vancouver Island
, British Columbia
, Canada
; died 6 July 2007, Winchester
, Hampshire
, England
) served in the British
and Omani
armies and was instrumental in the development of the present Sultanate of Oman. He was one of Britain's wealthiest people.
and a Canadian mother, Tim Landon attended Eastbourne College
in Sussex
. As a graduate of the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, Landon was posted to the 10th Hussars.
to Arabia and arrived in Oman
in the mid-1960s. He was sent there as part of a British military operation to help Sultan
Said bin Taimur
defeat the Soviet-backed
Dhofar Rebellion
. He was stationed in the south as an intelligence officer
, but was transferred to Muscat
. There he became an integral part of the coup to remove the old Sultan, who in the British government's opinion had become too independent, yet backward in his thinking.
Landon, who was close to the Sultan's son Qaboos from his Sandhurst
days, was allowed to visit his friend, although the Sultan had placed his son under house arrest
. Convincing the son to oust his father from the throne was no easy task. The coup occurred on 23 July 1970, when Landon was twenty-seven. Said bin Taimur was confronted at his palace and told to sign over power to his son. The only confirmed casualty in this otherwise bloodless coup
was the old Sultan's foot when he inadvertently shot himself. The deposed ruler was flown to London on an RAF Transport, where he died two years later in the Dorchester Hotel
. It is claimed that his greatest regret was not having Landon assassinated.
Over the next fifteen years, the young officer helped his friends develop the Sultanate from a medieval backwater
into a modern 20th-century state. Omani oil revenues
enabled much of the country's advances and Landon became a leading advocate of "Omanisation" of the economy and government.
role. He returned to England, taking up a diplomatic post at the Omani embassy in London and establishing a home at Faccombe
, a village near Andover
in Hampshire
. The title the "White Sultan" was regarded with bemusement by Landon, who maintained that Sultan Qaboos was very much in charge of Oman's destiny, and he was simply a servant and friend there to give advice. He continued to shuttle between London and Muscat until he died, his Boeing
often seen arriving or leaving Farnborough
,the nearest airport to his home.
Landon also played an important role as intermediary in several questionable deals like when giant telecom company Ericsson
sold telecommunications equipment to Oman in the late 1990s. Ericsson's intermediary in the deal, Middle East Services, was fronted by the Swiss lawyer Egon Kiss-Borlase, who was really a front man for Landon. The connection was revealed by a joint investigation into Landon's business by the Swedish Public Television
"Uppdrag granskning
" and Swedish Public Radio
's "Dagens Eko
" in January 2007.
Landon was also behind an intermediary in another questionable deal. Valurex International, Swedish jetfighter Saab
and UK defence giant BAE
's intermediary in the 1999 bribery scandal where SAAB and BAE offered millions of dollars in bribes to Czech politicians to buy the Gripen jet-fighter
. Egon Kiss-Borlase and his son Etienne once again played the role as front men. The real beneficiary of the money paid out to Valurex was the Austrian Alfons Mensdorff-Pouilly, a long time agent for BAE and a relative of Landon through Landon's wife Katalina Esterhazy Galantha. Mensdorff-Pouilly received secret commission contract of at least 81 million Swedish crowns for the final deal in 2003 when the Czech Republic
leased Gripen jetfighter.
Both the Ericsson Oman deal and the SAAB/BAE deal has been the focus of several police and parliamentary investigations. By 2008 investigations had opened in the Czech Republic
, Hungary
, Sweden
, Great Britain
, United States
, Switzerland
, and Austria
.
Tim Landon was also involved in the smuggling of a Bofors
cannon to the sultanate of Oman in the 1980s. "Sultan Quaboos of Oman got it into his head that his security would be enhanced if his yacht was kitted out with the Bofors guns. He wanted the Bofors guns and the government in Sweden objected to this deal, and this is where Landon and his associates always came into play. If something was denied them by diplomatic channels they would take the scenic route."
House of Esterházy, noted for its felicitous marriages, great wealth, and large land-holdings, and historically loyal to the Habsburg Dynasty. The marriage produced a son, Arthur, who studied film production and has begun to be involved in his family business affairs in recent years. Arthur is, according to the Sunday Times Rich List
, the wealthiest young person in Britain, with an inherited fortune of £200 million, and is "a close friend of the royal princes, William and Harry".
Brigadier
Brigadier is a senior military rank, the meaning of which is somewhat different in different military services. The brigadier rank is generally superior to the rank of colonel, and subordinate to major general....
Sir James Timothy Whittington Landon, KCVO
Royal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
, (born 20 August 1942, Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
; died 6 July 2007, Winchester
Winchester
Winchester is a historic cathedral city and former capital city of England. It is the county town of Hampshire, in South East England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, and is located at the western end of the South Downs, along the course of...
, Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
) served in the British
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
and Omani
Sultan of Oman's Armed Forces
The Sultan of Oman's Armed Forces are the Royal Army of Oman , Royal Navy of Oman, Royal Air Force of Oman and other defence forces of the Sultanate of Oman...
armies and was instrumental in the development of the present Sultanate of Oman. He was one of Britain's wealthiest people.
Early life
Born to a British Brigadier GeneralBrigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
and a Canadian mother, Tim Landon attended Eastbourne College
Eastbourne College
Eastbourne College is a British co-educational independent school for day and boarding pupils aged 13–18, situated on the south coast of England, included in the Tatler list of top public schools. The College's current headmaster is Simon Davies. The College was founded by the Duke of Devonshire...
in Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
. As a graduate of the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, Landon was posted to the 10th Hussars.
Time in Oman
With his regiment, he traveled overland from EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
to Arabia and arrived in Oman
Oman
Oman , officially called the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the...
in the mid-1960s. He was sent there as part of a British military operation to help Sultan
Sultan
Sultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...
Said bin Taimur
Said bin Taimur
Said bin Taimur was the sultan of Muscat and Oman from 10 February 1932 until his overthrow on 23 July 1970. His second wife was Mazoon al-Mashani...
defeat the Soviet-backed
Proxy war
A proxy war or proxy warfare is a war that results when opposing powers use third parties as substitutes for fighting each other directly. While powers have sometimes used governments as proxies, violent non-state actors, mercenaries, or other third parties are more often employed...
Dhofar Rebellion
Dhofar Rebellion
The Dhofar Rebellion was launched in the province of Dhofar against the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman, which had British support, from 1962 to 1976. It ended with the defeat of the rebels, but the state of Oman had to be radically reformed and modernised to cope with the campaign.-Background:In...
. He was stationed in the south as an intelligence officer
Intelligence officer
An intelligence officer is a person employed by an organization to collect, compile and/or analyze information which is of use to that organization...
, but was transferred to Muscat
Muscat, Oman
Muscat is the capital of Oman. It is also the seat of government and largest city in the Governorate of Muscat. As of 2008, the population of the Muscat metropolitan area was 1,090,797. The metropolitan area spans approximately and includes six provinces called wilayats...
. There he became an integral part of the coup to remove the old Sultan, who in the British government's opinion had become too independent, yet backward in his thinking.
Landon, who was close to the Sultan's son Qaboos from his Sandhurst
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst , commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is a British Army officer initial training centre located in Sandhurst, Berkshire, England...
days, was allowed to visit his friend, although the Sultan had placed his son under house arrest
House arrest
In justice and law, house arrest is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to his or her residence. Travel is usually restricted, if allowed at all...
. Convincing the son to oust his father from the throne was no easy task. The coup occurred on 23 July 1970, when Landon was twenty-seven. Said bin Taimur was confronted at his palace and told to sign over power to his son. The only confirmed casualty in this otherwise bloodless coup
Bloodless Coup
Bloodless Coup is the fifth studio album by Irish band Bell X1. It was released on 1 April 2011 in Ireland, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, on 4 April in the United Kingdom, and on 5 April in North America....
was the old Sultan's foot when he inadvertently shot himself. The deposed ruler was flown to London on an RAF Transport, where he died two years later in the Dorchester Hotel
Dorchester Hotel
The Dorchester is a luxury hotel in London, opened on 18 April 1931. It is situated on Park Lane in Mayfair, overlooking Hyde Park.The Dorchester was created by the famous builder Sir Robert McAlpine and the managing director of Gordon Hotels Ltd, Sir Frances Towle, who shared a vision of creating...
. It is claimed that his greatest regret was not having Landon assassinated.
Over the next fifteen years, the young officer helped his friends develop the Sultanate from a medieval backwater
History of Oman
-Prehistory:Prehistoric migration of Homo Sapiens is likely to have taken place around 100,000 years ago and to have followed the coastlines from Africa along Yemen and the sea shores of Oman. Archaeological sites in Yemen and Oman have yielded a stone tool style that is distinct from the East...
into a modern 20th-century state. Omani oil revenues
Economy of Oman
Oman is a country in the Middle East. has expanded continuously in the past half-a-century. It grew 339% in the Sixties reaching a peak growth of 1,370% in the Seventies scaling back to modest 12% growth in the turbulent Eighties and rising again to 34% in the Nineties.-Macro-economic trend:This...
enabled much of the country's advances and Landon became a leading advocate of "Omanisation" of the economy and government.
Later projects
By 1979, Landon's position as an adviser had become a figureheadFigurehead
A figurehead is a carved wooden decoration found at the prow of ships largely made between the 16th and 19th century.-History:Although earlier ships had often had some form of bow ornamentation A figurehead is a carved wooden decoration found at the prow of ships largely made between the 16th and...
role. He returned to England, taking up a diplomatic post at the Omani embassy in London and establishing a home at Faccombe
Faccombe
Faccombe is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, England. The village lies on the Hampshire-Berkshire border and is situated on the North Downs...
, a village near Andover
Andover, Hampshire
Andover is a town in the English county of Hampshire. The town is on the River Anton some 18.5 miles west of the town of Basingstoke, 18.5 miles north-west of the city of Winchester and 25 miles north of the city of Southampton...
in Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
. The title the "White Sultan" was regarded with bemusement by Landon, who maintained that Sultan Qaboos was very much in charge of Oman's destiny, and he was simply a servant and friend there to give advice. He continued to shuttle between London and Muscat until he died, his Boeing
Boeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
often seen arriving or leaving Farnborough
Farnborough Airfield
Farnborough Airport or TAG London Farnborough Airport is an airport situated in Farnborough, Rushmoor, Hampshire, England...
,the nearest airport to his home.
Financial interests, philanthropy, and controversy
Landon invested the money he had made during his time in Oman, diversifying his wealth into mineral exploration and farming in Africa, property and real estate investments in Europe and America, and a wide range of financial portfolios in global markets. His fortune was estimated at US$750 million or higher. Landon was known to be a patron of the arts and society as well as an avid conservationist, generously assisting with fundraising for foundations and charities.Landon also played an important role as intermediary in several questionable deals like when giant telecom company Ericsson
Ericsson
Ericsson , one of Sweden's largest companies, is a provider of telecommunication and data communication systems, and related services, covering a range of technologies, including especially mobile networks...
sold telecommunications equipment to Oman in the late 1990s. Ericsson's intermediary in the deal, Middle East Services, was fronted by the Swiss lawyer Egon Kiss-Borlase, who was really a front man for Landon. The connection was revealed by a joint investigation into Landon's business by the Swedish Public Television
Sveriges Television
Sveriges Television AB , Sweden's Television, is a national television broadcaster based in Sweden, funded by a compulsory fee to be paid by all television owners...
"Uppdrag granskning
Uppdrag granskning
Uppdrag granskning is a Swedish television program focusing on investigative journalism. The program is produced by and aired on SVT and has become known for the use of concealed cameras and microphones....
" and Swedish Public Radio
Sveriges Radio
Sveriges Radio AB – Swedish Radio Ltd – is Sweden's national publicly funded radio broadcaster. The Swedish public-broadcasting system is in many respects modelled after the one used in the United Kingdom, and Sveriges Radio - like Sveriges Television - shares many characteristics with...
's "Dagens Eko
Dagens Eko
Dagens Eko – often shortened to Ekot – is the news service of Swedish national radio broadcaster Sveriges Radio. It provides news bulletins of variable length which are known as Ekonyheter and broadcast at the top of most hours on the P1 and P4 networks...
" in January 2007.
Landon was also behind an intermediary in another questionable deal. Valurex International, Swedish jetfighter Saab
Saab
Saab AB is a Swedish aerospace and defence company, founded in 1937. From 1947 to 1990 it was the parent company of automobile manufacturer Saab Automobile, and between 1968 and 1995 the company was in a merger with commercial vehicle manufacturer Scania, known as Saab-Scania.-History:"Svenska...
and UK defence giant BAE
BAE
BAE Systems, a British defence, security and aerospace companyBAE may also refer to:*British Aerospace , a UK aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer...
's intermediary in the 1999 bribery scandal where SAAB and BAE offered millions of dollars in bribes to Czech politicians to buy the Gripen jet-fighter
JAS 39 Gripen
The Saab JAS 39 Gripen is a lightweight single-engine multirole fighter manufactured by the Swedish aerospace company Saab. It was designed to replace the Saab 35 Draken and 37 Viggen in the Swedish Air Force...
. Egon Kiss-Borlase and his son Etienne once again played the role as front men. The real beneficiary of the money paid out to Valurex was the Austrian Alfons Mensdorff-Pouilly, a long time agent for BAE and a relative of Landon through Landon's wife Katalina Esterhazy Galantha. Mensdorff-Pouilly received secret commission contract of at least 81 million Swedish crowns for the final deal in 2003 when the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
leased Gripen jetfighter.
Both the Ericsson Oman deal and the SAAB/BAE deal has been the focus of several police and parliamentary investigations. By 2008 investigations had opened in the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, and Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
.
Tim Landon was also involved in the smuggling of a Bofors
Bofors
The name Bofors has been associated with the iron industry for more than 350 years.Located in Karlskoga, Sweden, the company originates from the hammer mill "Boofors" founded 1646. The modern corporate structure was created in 1873 with the foundation of Aktiebolaget Bofors-Gullspång...
cannon to the sultanate of Oman in the 1980s. "Sultan Quaboos of Oman got it into his head that his security would be enhanced if his yacht was kitted out with the Bofors guns. He wanted the Bofors guns and the government in Sweden objected to this deal, and this is where Landon and his associates always came into play. If something was denied them by diplomatic channels they would take the scenic route."
Family and legacy
In 1977 Tim Landon married Katalina Esterhazy Galantha, a member of the Hungarian aristocraticNobility in the Kingdom of Hungary
The origin of the nobility in the Kingdom of Hungary can be traced to the Magyar conquest of Pannonia in the 9th century, and it developed over the course of the Middle Ages...
House of Esterházy, noted for its felicitous marriages, great wealth, and large land-holdings, and historically loyal to the Habsburg Dynasty. The marriage produced a son, Arthur, who studied film production and has begun to be involved in his family business affairs in recent years. Arthur is, according to the Sunday Times Rich List
Sunday Times Rich List
The Sunday Times Rich List is a list of the 1,000 wealthiest people or families in the United Kingdom, updated annually in April and published as a magazine supplement by British national Sunday newspaper The Sunday Times since 1989...
, the wealthiest young person in Britain, with an inherited fortune of £200 million, and is "a close friend of the royal princes, William and Harry".
External links
- "Rise of the White Sultan", Evening Standard, 16 October 2002
- Obituary, The Daily Telegraph, 12 July 2007
- "The extraordinary life of the White Sultan", The Independent, 12 July 2007
- "Life of the White Sultan shrouded in controversy", Globe and Mail, 14 July 2007
- Obituary, The Times, 20 July 2007
- Obituary, The Guardian, 28 August 2007
Further reading
- Oman: The True Life Drama and Intrigue of an Arab State by John Beasant