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Sultan of Brunei 1967.
The son of the sultan, Hassanal Bolkiah ibni Omar Ali Saifuddien III was born in Brunei on 15th July 1946. Educated at the Victoria Institution in Kuala Lumpur, he was later sent for training at Sandhurst on the two-year course in January 1966. However, on 5th October 1967, his 53-year-old father abdicated, so he returned home for a period before completing the course. A short attachment to the Coldstream Guards followed before he was crowned sultan on 1st August 1968.
As one of the last absolute monarchs in the world, he is prime minister, minister of defence, minister of foreign affairs, and minister of finance. The security of the state is protected by the Royal Brunei Armed Forces and by a British garrison, including a Royal Gurkha Rifles Battalion, in a bilateral agreement with the UK government. In 1984, Brunei became independent from the UK and the sultan addressed the UN after his country was admitted. Brunei is a conservative Islamic state yet home to many expats both connected with the garrison and the oil and gas industry. Thus, while celebrating Christmas is forbidden for locals, it is tolerated for others. By and large he has walked a careful path between two extremes.
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