Monarchies in Asia

Asia has more monarchs than any other continent.

National monarchies

State	Type	Succession	Incumbent	Born	Age	Reigns since	Designated heir
Bahrain	kingdom	agnatic primogeniture	Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa	28 Jan 1950	65 y.	6 Mar 1999 (as emir) 14 Feb 2002 (as king)	heir apparent: Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Crown Prince of Bahrain (eldest son)
Bhutan	kingdom	male primogeniture	Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck	21 Feb 1980	35 y.	14 Dec 2006	heir presumptive: Prince Jigyel Ugyen Wangchuck (younger brother)
Brunei	sultanate	agnatic primogeniture	Hassanal Bolkiah	15 Jul 1946	69 y.	4 Oct 1967	heir apparent: Al-Muhtadee Billah, Crown Prince of Brunei (eldest son)
Cambodia	kingdom	elective monarchy with hereditary agnatic primogeniture	Norodom Sihamoni	14 May 1953	62 y.	14 Oct 2004	None; appointed by the Royal Council of the Throne within the Royal Family members
	empire	agnatic primogeniture	Akihito	23 Dec 1933	81 y.	7 Jan 1989	heir apparent: Naruhito, Crown Prince of Japan (eldest son)
Jordan	kingdom	agnatic primogeniture	Abdullah II bin Al Hussein	30 Jan 1962	53 y.	7 Feb 1999	heir apparent: Hussein bin Al Abdullah, Crown Prince of Jordan (eldest son)
Kuwait	emirate	elective monarchy with hereditary agnatic primogeniture	Sabah IV Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah	16 Jun 1929	86 y.	29 Jan 2006	heir presumptive: Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Crown Prince of Kuwait (younger half-brother; appointed by the reigning emir within the Royal Family members)
Malaysia	kingdom	elective monarchy	Abdul Halim, Sultan of Kedah	28 November 1927	88 y.	13 December 2011	None; appointed by the Conference of Rulers every five years or after the king's death
Oman	sultanate	agnatic primogeniture	Qaboos bin Said al Said	18 Nov 1940	75 y.	23 Jul 1970	None; the king has no children so the heir will be appointed by the Royal Family members after the king's death, if there is no consensus the king's preference (expressed in an official sealed letter) will prevail
Qatar	emirate	agnatic primogeniture	Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani	3 June 1980	35 y.	25 June 2013	None; will be appointed by the reigning emir within the Royal Family members
Saudi Arabia	kingdom	agnatic seniority	Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud	31 Dec 1935	79 y.	23 Jan 2015	Heir apparent: Muhammad bin Nayef, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia
Thailand	kingdom	male primogeniture	Bhumibol Adulyadej Rama IX	5 Dec 1927	88 y.	9 Jun 1946	Heir apparent: Maha Vajiralongkorn, Crown Prince of Thailand (only son)
United Arab Emirates	kingdom	agnatic primogeniture	Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Emir of Abu Dhabi	25 Jan 1948	67 y.	3 Nov 2004	None; appointed by the seven emirs of UAE (normally the Emir of Abu Dhabi is always appointed as President, while the Emir of Dubai is always appointed as Prime Minister

Gallery

• Asia's monarchs
• Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifah, King of Bahrain

• Jigme Wangchuck, Dragon King of Bhutan

• Hassanal Bolkiah, Sultan of Brunei

• Norodom Sihamoni, King of Cambodia

• Akihito, Emperor of Japan

• Abdullah II, King of Jordan

• Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Sheikh of Kuwait

• Abdul Halim, Supreme King of Malaysia

• Qaboos bin Said al Said, Sultan of Oman

• Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir of Qatar

• Salman, King of Saudi Arabia

• Bhumibol Adulyadej, King of Thailand

Constituent monarchies

United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates consists of seven emirates that are all ruled by absolute monarchs. The President of the United Arab Emirates is an office held by the ruler of Abu Dhabi and the office of Prime Minister is held by the ruler of Dubai. The seven Emirates of the UAE are the;

• Emirate of Abu Dhabi
• Emirate of Ajman
• Emirate of Sharjah
• Emirate of Dubai
• Emirate of Ras al-Khaimah
• Emirate of Umm al-Quwain
• Emirate of Fujairah

Gallery

• Princes of the United Arab Emirates
• Sheikh Khalifa of Abu Dhabi

• Sheikh Mohammed of Dubai

Note: Sheikh Humaid bin Rashid Al Nuaimi of Ajman, Saud bin Rashid Al Mu'alla of Umm al-Quwain, Saqr bin Mohammad al-Qassimi of Ras al-Khaimah, and Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi of Fujairah are not pictured.

Malaysia

Malaysia, where the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (Supreme Head of State) is elected to a five-year term. Nine hereditary rulers from the Malay States form a Council of Rulers who will determine the next Agong via a secret ballot. The position has to date, been de facto rotated through the State rulers, originally based on seniority. The nine Malay States are the;

• Negeri Sembilan
• Kingdom of Perlis
• Sultanate of Selangor
• Sultanate of Terengganu
• Sultanate of Kedah
• Sultanate of Kelantan
• Sultanate of Pahang
• Sultanate of Johor
• Sultanate of Perak

The monarchy of Negeri Sembilan is itself elective.

Other subnational

 Indonesia is a republic, however several provinces or regencies preserves their own monarchy, although only Special Region of Yogyakarta that retain actual administrative authority, the rest only holds cultural significance.

• Sultanate of Yogyakarta, Special Region of Yogyakarta in Indonesia
• Duchy of Paku Alaman, Special Region of Yogyakarta in Indonesia
• Surakarta Sunanate, Surakarta, Central Java
• Duchy of Mangkunegaran, Surakarta, Central Java
• Keraton Kasepuhan, Cirebon, West Java
• Keraton Kanoman, Cirebon, West Java
• Keraton Keprabonan, Cirebon, West Java
• Keraton Kacirebonan, Cirebon, West Java
• Sultanate of Riau-Lingga, Riau Islands
• Sultanate of Siak Sri Indrapura, Riau
• Sultanate of Deli, Medan, North Sumatra
• Pontianak Sultanate, Pontianak, West Kalimantan
• Sultanate of Banjar, Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan
• Kutai Sultanate, Kutai Kartanegara, East Kalimantan
• Bima Sultanate, Bima, Sumbawa Island, West Nusa Tenggara
• Ternate Sultanate, North Maluku

See also

• List of current monarchs
• Monarchies in Europe
• Monarchies in Africa
• Monarchies in the Americas
• Monarchies in Oceania

References