Negara Brunei Darussalam (or Brunei) is a small country of 5,765 square kilometers (2,226 square miles), with a population of 358,098. About two-thirds of this population is ethnic Malay. Its capital is Bandar Seri Begawan, and it is located in Southeast Asia, bordering the South China Sea and Malaysia. Brunei contains dense forests and mangrove swamps. Its climate is tropical.

The same family has ruled Brunei for six centuries. From 1888 until 1950 Brunei was a British protectorate. In 1950 Omar Ali Saifuddin III (1914–1986), acting as the nominal authority under British rule, was inaugurated as sultan. In 1959 he promulgated the country's first written constitution. According to its provisions, elections for a legislative council would take place in 1962. Directly following the election, which the opposition won by a landslide, the sultan annulled the election results, suspended some of the constitution's provisions, declared a state of emergency, and ruled by decree. In 1963 Brunei was the only...