Hassanal Bolkiah
Sultan of Brunei since 1967, absolute monarch and head of state.
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via Wikipedia: Hassanal Bolkiah · see source
Hassanal Bolkiah is the 29th Sultan of Brunei, having ascended the throne following his father's abdication in 1967.[1][2] As of 2026, Hassanal Bolkiah is the current monarch with the longest reign and also serves as the longest-serving head of state currently in office.[1] He is consistently listed among the globe's wealthiest people.[1]
Life and work
Born on 15 July 1946, he was the eldest son of Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien III and was educated at Victoria Institution in Kuala Lumpur and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.[3][2] He was crowned Crown Prince at age fifteen on 14 July 1961.[3] In 2014, he announced the implementation of sharia penal code phase one, which includes punishments such as flogging and death by stoning.[4][5]
What the cited sources add
The Guardian reports that the sharia law implementation was preceded by confusion over a delayed start date on 22 April 2014.[4] The same source states that the monarchy was embarrassed by a family feud over an alleged embezzlement of $15 billion by his brother.[4] An IndiaTimes article states that Forbes ranked Sultan Bolkiah as the world's richest man in 1988.[2] The same article claims he spends over $20,000 for a single haircut, flying his barber from London first-class.[2]
The IndiaTimes article also notes his palace, Istana Nurul Iman, is worth over Rs 2550 crores.[2] At Brunei's initial National Day event on 23 February 1984, a total of 1,984 balloons and 1,404 pigeons were set free.[6]
References
- Wikipedia, "Hassanal Bolkiah" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Anuj Tiwari, "500 Rolls-Royce, Palace Of Gold - Everything About The Lavish Life Of The Sultan Of Brunei", IndiaTimes, 2 February 2025; "World's second-longest reigning monarch, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, marks golden jubilee in style", Times Now, 5 October 2017 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Anuj Tiwari, "500 Rolls-Royce, Palace Of Gold - Everything About The Lavish Life Of The Sultan Of Brunei", IndiaTimes, 2 February 2025. facts only, no text reused. indiatimes.com
- Wikipedia, "Hassanal Bolkiah" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka Brunei 1968, p. 50 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- "Sultan of Brunei unveils strict sharia penal code", The Guardian, 30 April 2014. facts only, no text reused. theguardian.com
- Khullar, "Brunei adopts sharia law amid international outcry", CNN, 1 May 2014. facts only, no text reused. cnn.com
- "A look back at Brunei's first National Day", The Scoop, 23 February 2018. facts only, no text reused. thescoop.co
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Hassanal Bolkiah (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
More in Asian & Middle Eastern Monarchs & Strongmen
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Hassanal Bolkiah (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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