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Friday, May 29, 2009

Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah



Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah, the
Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, GCB GCMG (born 15 July 1946) is the 29th Sultan of Brunei, the eldest son of Omar Ali Saifuddien III, the previous Sultan of Brunei, and Pengiran Anak Damit.

The Sultan currently has two wives, with Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Hajah Saleha being designated his first wife. His former second wife, Pengiran Isteri Hajah Mariam, was a former stewardess for the national carrier, Royal Brunei Airlines (RBA) whom he divorced in 2003, stripping her of all her royal titles. In August 2005 her place was taken by a former Malaysian TV3 presenter, Azrinaz Mazhar Hakim, who is 33 years younger than the Sultan.

Under Brunei's 1959 constitution, the Sultan is the head of state with full executive authority, including emergency powers since 1962. On 9 March 2006, the Sultan was reported to have changed Brunei's constitution to make himself infallible under Bruneian law.[2] Bolkiah is also the Prime Minister of Brunei, as well as holding the portfolios of Defence and Finance.
He addressed the
United Nations General Assembly on Brunei Darussalam's admission to the United Nations in September, 1984. In 1991, he introduced a conservative ideology to Brunei called Melayu Islam Beraja (MIB) (or Malay Islamic Monarchy), which presents the monarchy as the defender of the faith.[3] He has recently favoured partial democratisation. In 2004, the Legislative Council, which had been dissolved since 1962, was reopened.[4]
His designated successor is his eldest son, Al-Muhtadee Billah.

He was born on 15 July 1946 in Brunei Town (now called Bandar Seri Begawan). He became crown prince in 1961 and sultan on 5 October 1967, after his father abdicated voluntarily. His coronation was held on 1 August 1968. Like his father, he has been knighted by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, of which Brunei was a protectorate until 1984.
The Sultan received high school education in Malaysia's premier school
Victoria Institution in Kuala Lumpur, where he joined the Cadet Corps (Band). After receiving a private education in Brunei, the Sultan attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in October 1967 but returned home to be the Crown Prince few months before graduation, and has since received an honorary doctorate from a Russian university[citation needed].
His Majesty has also been awarded an Honorary Doctor of Law degree from the University of Oxford, England, UK and an Honorary Doctor of Letters degree from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. He also received a Honorary Doctorate from the Chulalongkorn University of Thailand.
In 2003, received Honorary Doctorate Degree in Humanities and Culture by the Gadjah Mada University, UGM, Yogyakarta, Republic of Indonesia.
[5] On the 27 January 2005, the Sultan was awarded and made an Honorary Doctor of Laws by the National University of Singapore.

The Sultan is famous for his vast automobile collection. In 1998, the British car magazine Autocar published undercover photographs of the Sultan's cars, which included unique modifications of Ferraris and Bentleys. It has been said that he has at least 3,000 to 6,000 cars and has bought over U.S.$4 billion worth of cars.
The number purchased by his business interests and the number actually used by himself and his family differ greatly. According to
Guinness World Records the Sultan's personal private collection has 500 Rolls-Royces — the largest collection of that marque in the world. During the 1990s, his family accounted for almost half of all Rolls-Royce purchases, bulk buying slightly modified vehicles for diplomats and adding unique cars to their own collection. He also owns the very last Rolls-Royce Phantom VI, a 1992 state landaulette.
Among his collection are the
Porsche Carrera GT, Lamborghini Diablo Jota, Porsche 959, Bugatti EB110, Lamborghini Murcielago LP640, Maybach 62, Jaguar XJR-15 and six Dauer 962's. He is also the owner of six models of the Ferrari FX, the original red show model of the Bentley Continental R, two fully operational versions of the Ferrari Mythos concept car, both of the Ferrari 456 GT Sedans, the only right hand drive Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR in the world, five McLaren F1's including both black LM models and three Cizeta-Moroder V16T cars. He also possesses a Formula One car as driven by every Formula 1 World Drivers Champion since the 1980 Formula One season, particularly the ones driven in the last race for each season. A prime example of this is Jacques Villeneuve's Williams FW19 which still bears the collision damage courtesy of Michael Schumacher in the 1997 European Grand Prix.
He has a special interest in buying one-of-a-kind concept cars, including the
Bentley Java and Bentley Dominator 4x4, whilst leaving slightly more common race cars such as the Aston Martin AM3 or the modified Mercedes-Benz 300SL to his brother Jefri. The collection of vehicles was for the most part stored and serviced in five aircraft hangars, where specialist teams from the various manufacturers would maintain the collection.

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