Hassanal Bolkiah

July 15, 1946

Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei

In 1961 Hassanal was recalled to Brunei when his father voluntarily abdicated the throne in a last desperate move to resist both communism and pressure from the British to permit greater democracy. The young sultan reluctantly was installed as the new ruler on October 5, 1967, and was coronated on August 1, 1968. Father and son waged a public dispute over Radio Television Brunei, but in the end the police and the army declared allegiance to Hassanal. Like his father, Hassanal wanted to preserve the British protectorate, but the British insisted on giving up their quasi-colonial relationship. Full independence came on January 1, 1984, when the State of Brunei became Brunei Negara Darussalam ("Country of Brunei, the Abode of Peace"). Upon independence Hassanal became Prime Minister and Minister of Defense and installed various family members in high cabinet positions. In 1984 he also brought Brunei into the United Nations. In the early years of his rule, Hassanal showed little interest in affairs of state. In the 1980's, however, he began increasing Brunei's role in regional affairs and in 1985 joined ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. He also began investing in international real estate while continuing to spend astonishing sums on hundreds of cars, polo ponies, works of art, jewels, custom airliners, and innumerable other items. In the 1980's, Hassanal also became involved in several embarrassing financial transactions. He was alleged to be the funding source for Mohamed Al-Fayed's controversial attempt to take over the House of Fraser and other business interests in Great Britain. He also may have unknowingly provided capital for fraudulent deals made by another foreign advisor, Khoo Teck Puat. In 1986 he was secretly approached by Elliott Abrams, a senior official in the U. S. Department of Defense, who requested money for Contra "freedom fighters" battling against the government of Nicaragua. Months later, as the Iran-Contra scandal began to break, the donation was returned to Hassanal after it was learned that it had been deposited to the wrong Swiss bank account. After independence Hassanal did not, however, encourage the development of democratic institutions or delegate his power. He serves as king, prime minister, finance minister, and commander of the armed forces as well as head of the Royal Brunei Police, the Petroleum Unit, the Broadcasting and Information Services, and Supreme Head of Islam for Brunei. He allowed formation of The Brunei National Democratic Party in 1985, but it was dissolved in 1988 after calling for the Sultan to resign as head of state. In 1990 Hassanal began trying to strengthen the role of Islam through the concept of Melayu Islam Beraja (or Malay Islamic Monarchy), which links Malay identity, Islam, and the role of the monarchy as an official ideology. He has warned against Islamic fundamentalism, however, and declared that he would not permit extreme religious forces to influence his people. In 1997 Hassanal was again exposed to world scrutiny when an American former beauty queen, Shannon Marketic, alleged sexual abuse by Hassanal's brother, Prince Jefri. At the same time, Hassanal replaced Jefri as finance minister, most likely because of problems involving Jefri's business interests. Marketic brought suit against the royal family in the United States, but a U. S. judge later ruled that Hassanal had sovereign immunity. During the Asian currency crisis of 1997-1998 Hassanal took an aggressive and highly visible role in supporting fellow ASEAN member nations by increasing investments in Malaysia and offering significant aid to Indonesia and Thailand. With government incentives to attract new industries, particularly tourism, Brunei's absolute monarch will be increasingly faced with the dilemma of how to cooperate on a global scale, guarantee future security, and open his country to outside influences without sacrificing its traditional values.

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Hassanal Bolkiah

also known as Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Muʿizzaddin Waddaulah

ruler

Background

Hassanal Bolkiah was born on July 15, 1946 in Brunei Town (now called Bandar Seri Begawan), the eldest son of Sultan Sir Haji Omar Ali Saifuddin.

Education

Hassanal was educated privately by tutors and later attended the Victoria Institution in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, England, graduating in 1967.

Career

In 1961 Hassanal was recalled to Brunei when his father voluntarily abdicated the throne in a last desperate move to resist both communism and pressure from the British to permit greater democracy. The young sultan reluctantly was installed as the new ruler on October 5, 1967, and was coronated on August 1, 1968. Father and son waged a public dispute over Radio Television Brunei, but in the end the police and the army declared allegiance to Hassanal.

Like his father, Hassanal wanted to preserve the British protectorate, but the British insisted on giving up their quasi-colonial relationship. Full independence came on January 1, 1984, when the State of Brunei became Brunei Negara Darussalam ("Country of Brunei, the Abode of Peace"). Upon independence Hassanal became Prime Minister and Minister of Defense and installed various family members in high cabinet positions. In 1984 he also brought Brunei into the United Nations.

In the early years of his rule, Hassanal showed little interest in affairs of state. In the 1980's, however, he began increasing Brunei's role in regional affairs and in 1985 joined ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. He also began investing in international real estate while continuing to spend astonishing sums on hundreds of cars, polo ponies, works of art, jewels, custom airliners, and innumerable other items.

In the 1980's, Hassanal also became involved in several embarrassing financial transactions. He was alleged to be the funding source for Mohamed Al-Fayed's controversial attempt to take over the House of Fraser and other business interests in Great Britain. He also may have unknowingly provided capital for fraudulent deals made by another foreign advisor, Khoo Teck Puat. In 1986 he was secretly approached by Elliott Abrams, a senior official in the U. S. Department of Defense, who requested money for Contra "freedom fighters" battling against the government of Nicaragua. Months later, as the Iran-Contra scandal began to break, the donation was returned to Hassanal after it was learned that it had been deposited to the wrong Swiss bank account.

After independence Hassanal did not, however, encourage the development of democratic institutions or delegate his power. He serves as king, prime minister, finance minister, and commander of the armed forces as well as head of the Royal Brunei Police, the Petroleum Unit, the Broadcasting and Information Services, and Supreme Head of Islam for Brunei. He allowed formation of The Brunei National Democratic Party in 1985, but it was dissolved in 1988 after calling for the Sultan to resign as head of state.

In 1990 Hassanal began trying to strengthen the role of Islam through the concept of Melayu Islam Beraja (or Malay Islamic Monarchy), which links Malay identity, Islam, and the role of the monarchy as an official ideology. He has warned against Islamic fundamentalism, however, and declared that he would not permit extreme religious forces to influence his people.

In 1997 Hassanal was again exposed to world scrutiny when an American former beauty queen, Shannon Marketic, alleged sexual abuse by Hassanal's brother, Prince Jefri. At the same time, Hassanal replaced Jefri as finance minister, most likely because of problems involving Jefri's business interests. Marketic brought suit against the royal family in the United States, but a U. S. judge later ruled that Hassanal had sovereign immunity.

During the Asian currency crisis of 1997-1998 Hassanal took an aggressive and highly visible role in supporting fellow ASEAN member nations by increasing investments in Malaysia and offering significant aid to Indonesia and Thailand. With government incentives to attract new industries, particularly tourism, Brunei's absolute monarch will be increasingly faced with the dilemma of how to cooperate on a global scale, guarantee future security, and open his country to outside influences without sacrificing its traditional values.

Achievements

Hassanal is the current sultan in a dynasty that is believed to be one of the oldest in the world. In anticipation of independence from Britain, Hassanal began to create a native bureaucracy, replacing British expatriates in the civil service with Bruneians, and he cracked down on corruption. He first came to worldwide attention in the 1980s when the financial press revealed that this ruler of a traditional Islamic monarchy on the northwest coast of Borneo controlled a fortune in excess of $25 billion. For a time, he was regarded as the world's richest man. The sultan's current holdings, which officially belong to the country, are believed to be at least $40 billion.

Works

book
- The Future of ASEAN (The Singapore Lecture series)
  (The Singapore Lecture Series was inaugurated in 1980 by t...)

Connections

In 1965 Hassanal married a cousin, Pengiran Anak Saleha, in an arranged marriage. In 1981 he displeased his father by marrying his second wife, a former airline hostess and commoner named Mariam Bell. They divorced in 2003. In August 2005 he married Azrinaz Mazhar Hakim, a former Malaysian TV3 presenter. He divorced her in 2010, and as with his second wife, Hassanal stripped her of all titles, honours, and monthly allowance. With his three wives he has five sons and seven daughters. The current Crown Prince and the Hassanal's heir is Prince Al-Muhtadee Billah.

Father:: Sultan Sir Haji Omar Ali Saifuddin
Spouse:: Azrinaz Mazhar Hakim
Spouse:: Pengiran Anak Saleha
Spouse:: Mariam Bell
Son:: Al-Muhtadee Billah

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