25 Facts About Hassanal Bolkiah

Hassanal Bolkiah is one of the few absolute monarchs in the world.

Hassanal Bolkiah became the Sultan of Brunei Darussalam on 5 October 1967, after his father abdicated.

Hassanal Bolkiah's coronation was held on 1 August 1968, and made him the Yang di-Pertuan of Brunei.

Hassanal Bolkiah appointed himself as Inspector General of Police of the Royal Brunei Police Force.

Hassanal Bolkiah has recently favoured Brunei government democratisation and declared himself Prime Minister and President.

Hassanal Bolkiah established the Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Foundation.

Hassanal Bolkiah was chairman of Summit APEC Leaders in 2000 when Brunei Darussalam hosted the summit.

Hassanal Bolkiah was the chairman of ASEAN Summit in 2013 and 2021, when Brunei Darussalam became the Chair of ASEAN Summits and its Related Meetings.

Hassanal Bolkiah is Head of Religion, and Islam is the official religion of the country.

Hassanal Bolkiah often attends mosques and surau throughout the country for the obligatory Friday prayers.

In 2014, Hassanal Bolkiah advocated the adoption of Islamic sharia penalties, including that adultery is to be punished with death by stoning.

Hassanal Bolkiah banned public celebrations of Christmas in 2015, including wearing hats or clothes that resemble Santa Claus.

Hassanal Bolkiah had open disagreements with his brother, Jefri Bolkiah, who owned a network of companies and investment vehicles under the name "Amedeo" run by his son, Prince Hakim, which was used to buy the luxury goods company Asprey and build an amusement park and other projects in Brunei.

Hassanal Bolkiah is not back in any official government role but retains all his royal titles and decorations and remains in the royal protocol order.

Hassanal Bolkiah is seen at major national functions like the national teachers day celebrations, the sultan's birthday and at the National Day Celebrations.

The sultan once owned one of the largest private car collections in the world with about 2,500 cars which his brother Jefri Hassanal Bolkiah bought for himself, the sultan and other members of the royal family to entertain their car passion.

Hassanal Bolkiah's former second wife, Mariam Abdul Aziz, was a former flight attendant for the national carrier, Royal Brunei Airlines.

Hassanal Bolkiah divorced her in 2003, stripping her of all her royal titles.

Hassanal Bolkiah previously held an Honorary Doctor of Law degree from the University of Oxford, England, which was returned on 6 May 2019 following a letter from the University, and an Honorary Doctor of Letters degree from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, which was revoked on 17 April 2019.

Hassanal Bolkiah received an Honorary Doctorate from the Chulalongkorn University of Thailand.

Hassanal Bolkiah was awarded with an honorary doctorate in philosophy and humanities on 21 April 2011 from Universitas Indonesia.

Hassanal Bolkiah is an Honorary Admiral of the Royal Navy and Honorary General of the British Army, a title given to him by Queen Elizabeth II when he took the salute at the passing out parade of the 2001 summer term at Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, the Royal Navy's officer-training school in the United Kingdom.

Hassanal Bolkiah has an English residence at Binfield Manor in Berkshire.

Hassanal Bolkiah holds the rank of Honorary Colonel Commandant of Pakistan's Special Service Group, awarded to him during his visit to the Pakistan Army's SSG headquarters at Cherat with effect from 3 Apr 2005.

Hassanal Bolkiah possesses red beret and paratrooper wings of the Black Hawk paratroopers, presented to him by the Indian Army during his state visit to India.