Hassanal Bolkiah

Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah Al-Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah
Sultan of Brunei
File:Sultanhassanalbolkiah.jpg
Reign	5 October, 1967 — Present
Coronation	1 August, 1968
Predecessor	Omar Ali Saifuddin III
House	Brunei
Father	Omar Ali Saifuddin III

Kebawah Duli Yang Maha Mulia Paduka Seri Baginda Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Al-Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Almarhum Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Sa'adul Khairi Waddien, GCB GCMG (born July 15, 1946) is the 29th Sultan of Brunei, the eldest son of Omar Ali Saifuddin Sa'adul Khairi Waddien, the previous sultan.

Crown Prince Al-Muhtadee Billah Bolkiah is the sultan's heir, born by Queen Saleha. As of 2006, he has five sons and six daughters with Queen Saleha, his former second wife, Queen Mariam, and his present second wife. Bruneian men are allowed four wives, but the sultan only has two, with Queen Anak Saleha being designated his first wife. His first second wife, Queen Mariam, was a former flight attendant whom he divorced in 2003, stripping her of all her royal titles. In August 2005 her place was taken by a former Malaysian TV3 presenter, Azrinaz Mazhar Hakim, who is 32 years younger than the sultan.

Political role as Sultan

For further information on the politics of Brunei see the article, Politics of Brunei.

Under Brunei's 1959 constitution, the Sultan is the head of state with full executive authority, including emergency powers since 1962.

In addition to being the Sultan, Bolkiah is also the Prime Minister of Brunei, as well as holding the portfolios of Defence, and Finance. He has recently favoured partial democratisation, in 2004 the Legislative Council was reopened, having been dissolved since 1962.

In 1991 he introduced a conservative ideology to Brunei called Melayu Islam Beraja (MIB) (or Malay Islamic Monarchy), which presents the monarchy as the defender of the faith.

He addressed the United Nations General Assembly on Brunei Darussalam's admission to the United Nations in September, 1984.

On March 9, 2006, the Sultan was reported to have changed Brunei's constitution to make himself infallible under Bruneian law.

He is to be succeeded by his eldest son, Al-Muhtadee Billah Bolkiah.

Early years and education

He was born on July 15, 1946 in Brunei Town (now called Bandar Seri Begawan). He became crown prince in 1961 and sultan on October 5, 1967, after his father abdicated voluntarily. His coronation was held on August 1, 1968. Like his father, he has been knighted by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, of which Brunei was a protectorate until 1984.

The Sultan received high school education in Malaysia's premier school Victoria Institution in Kuala Lumpur, where he joined the Cadet Corps (Band). After receiving a private education in Brunei, the Sultan graduated from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in October 1967, and has since received an honorary doctorate from a Russian university.

Personal wealth

The Sultan has a sizable private fortune derived from his total control over the national economy's finances and the appropriation of the state's sizeable oil revenues to bankroll his extravagant lifestyle. At one time he was the richest man in the world.

Motor cars

The Sultan is famous for his vast automobile collection. In 1998, the British car magazine Autocar published undercover photographs of the Sultan's cars, which included unique conversions of Ferraris and Bentleys into station wagons. He is variously said to have owned between 3,000 and 5,000 cars; although the number purchased by his business interests and the number actually used by himself and his family differ greatly. According to Guinness World Records the Sultan's personal private collection has 500 Rolls-Royces — the largest collection of that marque in the world. During the 1990s, his family accounted for almost half of all Rolls-Royce purchases, bulk buying slightly modified vehicles for diplomats and adding unique cars to their own collection. He also owns the very last Rolls-Royce Phantom VI, a 1992 state landaulette.

Among his collection are the Porsche Carrera GT, Lamborghini Diablo Jota, Porsche 959, Lamborghini Murcielago LP640, Maybach 62, Jaguar XJR-15 and six Dauer 962's. He is also the owner of six models of the Ferrari FX, the original red show model of the Bentley Continental R, two fully operational versions of the Ferrari Mythos concept car, both of the Ferrari 456 GT Sedans, the only in the world Right hand drive Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR, seven McLaren F1's including both black LM models and three Cizeta cars. He also possesses a Formula One car as driven by every Formula 1 World Drivers Champion since the 1980 Formula One season, particularly the ones driven in the last race for each season. A prime example of this is Jacques Villeneuve's Williams FW19 which still bears the collision damage courtesy of Michael Schumacher in the 1997 European Grand Prix.

He has a special interest in buying one-of-a-kind concept cars, including the Bentley Java and Bentley Dominator 4x4, whilst leaving slightly more common race cars such as the Aston Martin AM3 or the souped-up 300SL replicas to his brother Jefri. The collection of vehicles was for the most part stored and serviced in five aircraft hangars, where specialist teams from the various manufacturers would maintain the collection. The engineer teams were recalled and the cars mothballed after it emerged Prince Jefri had stolen massive portions of government reserves.

Other concerns

For personal use, the sultan possesses a Boeing 747-400 furnished with gold plated furniture, six smaller planes and two helicopters.

He also operates a $1 billion theme park called Jerudong Park, which in the past used to be free of charge.

Despite his personal extravagance, he has attempted to share the country's oil wealth. In a country mockingly dubbed the "Shellfare State" (in reference to the significant influence of the Shell Oil Company), Bruneians have free education and medical services. There is no personal or corporation tax in Brunei.

His official residence is the Istana Nurul Iman.

Family feud

In February 2006 the sultan's legal feud with his brother, Prince Jefri Bolkiah (in the media known as the "Playboy Prince", because of his lavish lifestyle), was settled in London's High Court. In a surprise move, the sultan agreed to drop all charges against Jefri, whom he in 2000 sued for embezzling £8 billion ($20.7 billion) from the Brunei Investment Authority (BIA).

Honorary titles

The Sultan holds an honorary commission in the Royal Air Force as an Air Chief Marshal.

External links

• Government of Brunei
• Forbes.com: Forbes World's Richest People 1997
• Brunei's Battle Royal — Business Week article.
• Unofficial website about the sultan — linked 17 February 2006
• Article from 11 February 2006, about his legal fight with his brother — linked 17 February 2006
• Pictures of some of the unique cars in the Sultan's collection
• Sultan of Brunei- New Internationalist magazine article, May 2000
• Brunei, a Shellfare State- A report of a visit to Brunei