His early education was at the Palace in Bandar Seri Begawan. He then went to Kuala Lumpur for two years and returned to complete his studies at the Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien College in Brunei. After this, he spent nearly two years at Sandhurst Royal Military Academy and was commissioned as a Captain. In October 1967, he returned from Britain to be installed as the 29th Sultan.
The Sultan is Head of State and Prime Minister and takes responsibility for the Defence and Finance portfolios. In 1998, his eldest son, Pg Muda Hj Al-Muhtadee Billah, was invested as Crown Prince, and in 2005 was named Senior Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office.
In July 2004, in conjunction with his 58th birthday celebrations the Sultan announced that he had decided to restore a measure of democracy to his absolute monarchy and that he would reconvene parliament 20 years after it last met. He has now reactivated the Legislative Council, which gives a formal structure to public participation in government. The Sultan galvanised the process of reform by reshuffling his cabinet of ministers in May 2005.
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