Brunei's sultan announces cabinet shake-up, appoints sons as Ministers

Key points

• Brunei's ruler announced a major cabinet reshuffle on Thursday (June 4, 2026), creating new key portfolios and appointing two ​of his younger sons as ministers, in a sign of potential succession planning in the tiny oil-rich sultanate.
• The shake-up is the first ​since 2022 and comes as Brunei, on the island ⁠of Borneo, faces pressure from a global energy crisis sparked by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
• It also comes a year before Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, the world's longest reigning monarch who ascended the throne in 1967, prepares to celebrate his diamond jubilee.
• The 79-year-old, who holds multiple roles in government, has made limited public appearances this ⁠year after undergoing knee replacement surgery in January.
• In a televised ⁠broadcast, Sultan Hassanal said he would continue to hold the key roles of Prime Minister, Defence Minister, and Finance Minister.