When Brunei put harsh new laws in place this week that made adultery and gay sex punishable by stoning, it focused international attention on the country’s sovereign, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, 72, whose vast wealth and family spending have landed his name in the tabloids for decades.

The sultan, as the main enforcer of religion in the Southeast Asian country, has in recent decades advocated a hard-line vision of Islam that is at odds with the royal family’s opulent lifestyle. Here is a look at his powers, his background and the international condemnation of Brunei’s new laws.

Sweeping Authority

In Brunei, a tiny sultanate on the island of Borneo, Sultan Hassanal has many more roles than monarch. He is, according to his official biography, also prime minister, defense minister, finance minister and foreign minister. He became crown prince at 15, in 1961, and was crowned Brunei’s 29th sultan in 1968, the year after his father abdicated.

Sultan Hassanal ascended to the throne while Brunei was still a British protectorate, and he studied at a military academy in Britain before becoming sultan. (He also studied in Malaysia.)