| Border: | sultanate |
| Royal Title: | Sultan |
| Realm: | Brunei Darussalam |
| Native Name: | Malay: Sultan dan Yang Di-Pertuan Negara Brunei Darussalam |
| Type: | other |
| Coatofarms: | Personal Emblem of the Sultan of Brunei.svg |
| Coatofarms Article: | Emblem of Brunei |
| Incumbent: | Hassanal Bolkiah |
| Incumbentsince: | 5 October 1967 |
| His/Her: | His |
| Heir Apparent: | The Crown Prince Al-Muhtadee Billah |
| First Monarch: | Sultan Muhammad Shah |
| Residence: | Istana Nurul Iman, Bandar Seri Begawan |
The Sultan of Brunei is the monarchical head of state of Brunei and head of government in his capacity as prime minister of Brunei.[1] Since independence from the British in 1984, only one sultan has reigned, though the royal institution dates back to the 14th century.[2] The Sultan of Brunei can be thought of as synonymous with the ruling House of Bolkiah, with generations being traced from the first sultan, Muhammad Shah, temporarily interrupted by the thirteenth sultan, Abdul Hakkul Mubin, who in turn was deposed by a member of the House of Bolkiah. The sultan's full title is His Majesty The Sultan and Yang di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam.
| 1 | Muhammad Shah / Awang Alak Betatar | 1363[3] or 1368 | 1402 | Established the Sultanate. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Abdul Majid Hassan / Maharaja Karna | 1402 | 1408 | Died in Nanjing, China. | ||
| 3 | Ahmad / Awang Pateh Berbai | 1408 | 1425 | |||
| 4 | Sharif Ali / Sultan Barkat (Blessed Sultan) | 1425 | 1432 | Previously the Sharif of Mecca of the Mamluk Sultanate and has no direct genealogical relation to the predecessor, but was selected as he was the son-in-law of the previous sultan (Ahmad) and was well versed in Islam. | ||
| 5 | Sulaiman | 1432 | 1485 | Son of the previous sultan, Sharif Ali. Abdicated to allow his son Bolkiah to become sultan. | ||
| 6 | Bolkiah / Nakhoda Ragam (The Singing Captain) | 1485 | 1524 | Son of the previous sultan, Sulaiman and the first Sultan to have used cannons during his reign. | ||
| 7 | Abdul Kahar | 1524 | 1530 | Son of the previous sultan, Bolkiah | ||
| 8 | Saiful Rijal | 1533 | 1581 | Nephew and adopted-son of the previous sultan, Abdul Kahar. Castile War broke out between Brunei and Spain. | ||
| 9 | Shah Berunai | 1581 | 1582 | Eldest son of Sultan Saiful Rijal | ||
| 10 | Muhammad Hassan | 1582 | 1598 | Younger brother of Shah Berunai. | ||
| 11 | Abdul Jalilul Akbar | 1598 | 1659 | |||
| 12 | Abdul Jalilul Jabbar | 1659 | 1660 | |||
| 13 | Muhammad Ali | 1660 | 1661 | Garroted by his future successor Abdul Hakkul Mubin, sparking the Brunei Civil War. | ||
| 14 | Abdul Hakkul Mubin | 1660 | 1673 | Started the Brunei Civil War by killing his predecessor Muhammad Ali and was in turn killed by Muhyiddin who succeeded him as Sultan. | ||
| 15 | Muhyiddin | 1673 | 1690 | Son of Abdul Jalilul Akbar who avenged the death of his father-in-law Muhammad Ali by killing Abdul Hakkul Mubin, thus ending the Brunei Civil War. He also bought Gunpowder from the Sultanate of Jambi during the Brunei Civil War. | ||
| 16 | Nasruddin | 1690 | 1710 | |||
| 17 | Husin Kamaluddin | 1710 | 1730 | First reign. He ruled for the second time between 1737 and 1740. | ||
| 18 | Muhammad Alauddin | 1730 | 1737 | Instructed Datu Imam Yaakub to write the Salsilah Raja-Raja Berunai or the Genealogy of the Sultans of Brunei. | ||
| (17) | Husin Kamaluddin | 1737 | 1740 | Second reign | ||
| 19 | Omar Ali Saifuddin I | 1740 | 1778 | |||
| 20 | Muhammad Tajuddin | 1778 | 1807 | Ordered Khatib Abdul Latif to inscribe Batu Tarsilah or Stone Tablet. | ||
| 21 | Muhammad Jamalul Alam I | 1804 | 1804 | |||
| 22 | Muhammad Kanzul Alam | 1807 | 1826 | |||
| 23 | Muhammad Alam | 1826 | 1828 | He referred to himself as the Sultan of Brunei. Under his reign, Brunei held onto its territory, which extended from Tanjong Datu in Sarawak to Kimanis in Sabah, despite being seen as a weak and increasingly protective country. Because of this, this article will also provide some light on the actual situation of the Bruneian Empire before its terrible fall soon after the battle. The majority of Bruneians despised him when he became Sultan, and he disregarded royal Bruneian customs, which sparked a second civil war between him and Pengiran Muda Omar Ali Saifuddin, his successor. | ||
| 24 | Omar Ali Saifuddin II | 1828 | 1852 | Arrival of James Brooke and the signing of the Treaty of Labuan in 1846. | ||
| 25 | Abdul Momin | 1852 | 29 May 1885 | Signed the Treaty of Friendship and Commerce in 1847, continued annexation of territories by Charles Brooke and declaration of the Amanat in 1885. | ||
| 26 | Hashim Jalilul Alam Aqamaddin | 29 May 1885 | 10 May 1906 | Continued territorial losses despite the Amanat and the signing of the 1888 Protectorate Agreement with the British government. The arrival and report of Malcolm McArthur led to him signing the 1905–1906 Supplementary Agreement. | ||
| 27 | Muhammad Jamalul Alam II | 10 May 1906 | 11 September 1924 | He became the first Sultan of Brunei with the ability to speak English. Later, he introduced Islamic law, the Mohammedan Laws Enactment), to the sultanate in 1912. This was followed by the Marriage and Divorce Act in 1913. The arrival of Edward, Prince of Wales, to the sultanate on 18 May 1922. That same year, he became the first monarch to visit Singapore. Near the end of this reign saw the relocation of Istana Kampong Ayer to Istana Majlis. An outbreak of malaria claimed his life as well as three members of his family. | ||
| 28 | Ahmad Tajuddin | 11 September 1924 | 4 June 1950 | Oil was discovered early into his reign, in April 1929. He married Tengku Raihani on 30 April 1934. During his reign, he saw the Japanese occupation of Brunei from 1941 to 1945. He celebrated his Silver Jubilee on 22 September 1949. While at the Raffles Hotel, he became ill and died at the Singapore General Hospital on 3 June 1950. | ||
| 29 | Omar Ali Saifuddien III | 4 June 1950 | 5 October 1967 | Brunei saw substantial changes under his 17-year rule. He developed the Melayu Islam Beraja (MIB) philosophy, which serves as the nation's guiding ideology. He also initiated educational, religious, social and economic reform to ready his people for the restoration of the state's sovereign powers. He observed the drafting and the signing of the Constitution of Brunei in 1959. He also witnessed the strain that resulted from the Federation of Malaysia's merger, which set the stage for the 1962 Brunei revolt. In 1967, he abdicated in favour of his eldest son, Hassanal Bolkiah. | ||
| 30 | Hassanal Bolkiah | 5 October 1967 | Incumbent | Since Brunei gained its independence from the United Kingdom in 1984, he has served as prime minister as well as the country's sultan since 1967. He is among the world's few absolute monarchs. He took the throne of Brunei after his father abdicated in 1967. He became one of the richest people on the planet, according to some rankings. He is the head of state who has held office the longest in history as well as the king with the longest reign. He commemorated his Golden Jubilee on 5 October 2017. |
The Sultan has a private fleet of VIP aircraft since 1979.[4] consisting of Boeing 747-8(V8-BKH) Boeing 767-200 (V8-MHB) and Boeing 787-8 (V8-OAS),[5] as well as helicopters such as Sikorsky S70 and S76.
The aircraft fleet are not part of the nation’s Air Force. Other than the 747-8, the other two aircraft sport Royal Brunei Airlines colours.
The earliest historical record of the Sultans of Brunei is not clearly known due to the poor early documentation of Brunei history. In addition there has been an effort to Islamise the history, with the "official history" not matching up with verifiable foreign sources [6] The Batu Tarsilah - the genealogical record of the kings of Brunei - was not started until 1807. Therefore, much of the interpretation of history relied on earlier Chinese sources and legends. It seems that the early Sultanate of Brunei was dependent on Chinese support,[3] [7] [8] and perhaps early Sultans were of Chinese origin.[3] Furthermore, the earliest Sultans may have been practicing the Hindu or Buddhist religions, with early names indicating this origin.[6]