Brunei is an oil-rich nation of only 388,000 people on the north-western coast of the island of Borneo, slightly bigger that Long Island, but less than half the size of L.A. County. A tropical rain forest, Brunei exists mainly because of massive oil and gas reserves. An Islamic Sultanate dating back to the 14th century, Brunei is ruled by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, an absolute monarch who has ruled since 1967. Forbes has ranked the Sultan as the world's wealthiest monarch for decades with an estimated fortune in the range of $22 billion.
Under Brunei's 1959 constitution, the Sultan is the head of state with full executive authority, including emergency powers since 1962.
As Minister of Defence he is also the Supreme Commander of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces; an Honorary General in the British and Indonesian armed forces and an Honorary Admiral of the Fleet in the British Navy. He appointed himself as Inspector General of Police (IGP) of the Royal Brunei Police Force.
Most luxurious aircraft in the world, inlaid with gold
The Sultan has also a Boeing 747 worth a hundred million dollars, and then re-designed as a home at a cost of more than one hundred and twenty million dollars. Featured add-ons such as a whirlpool bath of pure gold
The largest and most luxurious palace in the world... Consists of 1788 rooms with some furnished in gold and diamond-encrusted
257 bath inlaid with gold and silver
and a garage to accommodate 110 cars
The palace has 650 suites ... each furnished at not less than 150,000 thousand euros
The sultan is the heir to an unbroken 600-year Muslim dynasty. The Sultan received high school education at Victoria Institution in Kuala Lumpur, after which he attended theRoyal Military Academy Sandhurst in the United Kingdom.
The Sultan of Brunei "can do no wrong in either his personal or any official capacity," according to the oil-rich country's constitution.
His wife had given birth to the sultan's 11th child, a baby boy, less than a year after their wedding and a daughter in 2008 but rumours of a marriage break-up had been circulating for some time in Brunei.
It was the sultan's second divorce. He broke up with former airline stewardess Miriam Abdul Aziz in 2003 after 21 years of marriage.
He remains married to his first wife, Anak Saleha, whom he wed in 1967. Their son, Crown Prince Al-Muhtadee Billah Bolkiah, is heir to the throne.
Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah has divorced his wife, Azrinaz Mazhar Hakim, after five years of marriage. State television and radio last night carried the announcement that the 63-year-old sultan had divorced Azrinaz, 30, a former Malaysian television news journalist, and that all of her royal titles had been revoked.
It marked the end of a marriage that began with a private wedding ceremony which contrasted starkly with previous lavish royal events paid for with the vast wealth accrued by the tiny nation
pmo.gov
The Independent
Curious..
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