Abdul Halim bin Mohd Hanifah () served as the 8th

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

of the

Royal Brunei Navy The Royal Brunei Navy ( ms, Tentera Laut Diraja Brunei, abbreviated TLDB) is the naval defence force of Brunei Darussalam. It is a small but relatively well-equipped force whose main responsibility is to conduct search and rescue missions and ...

(RBN) from 2008 to 2013.

Early life and education

Abdul Halim was born on 24 January 1965. Throughout his career, he attended several institutes and training overseas including the International Cadet Fund Accounting Services,

Maritime Surveillance {{Unreferenced, date=March 2008 Maritime patrol is the task of monitoring areas of water. Generally conducted by military and law enforcement agencies, maritime patrol is usually aimed at identifying human activities. Maritime patrol refers to ac ...

, International Long Navigation, Advance Military Command and Staff Course, completed

Britannia Royal Naval College Britannia Royal Naval College (BRNC), commonly known as Dartmouth, is the naval academy of the United Kingdom and the initial officer training establishment of the Royal Navy. It is located on a hill overlooking the port of Dartmouth, Devon, En ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

in 1985, obtained

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

(MA) and

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

(MS) in

Defence Studies Military science is the study of military processes, institutions, and behavior, along with the study of warfare, and the theory and application of organized coercive force. It is mainly focused on theory, method, and practice of producing mil ...

and Strategic Studies.

Military career

On 24 July 1982, he enlisted into the RBAF and commissioned as an

officer cadet Officer Cadet is a rank held by military cadets during their training to become commissioned officers. In the United Kingdom, the rank is also used by members of University Royal Naval Units, University Officer Training Corps and University Air ...

in 1983. Abdul Halim advanced in rank starting from

Sub-lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second high ...

in 1985,

Junior Lieutenant Junior lieutenant is a junior officer rank in several countries, equivalent to Sub-lieutenant. Germany In the National People's Army, the rank of () was introduced in 1956. Eastern Europe In many Eastern European countries, the rank of junior l ...

in 1987,

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in 1990,

Lieutenant Commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

in 1994,

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

in 2004,

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in 2007. The Commander-in-chief,

Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah Hassanal Bolkiah ibni Omar Ali Saifuddien III ( Jawi: ; born 15 July 1946) is the 29th and current Sultan and Yang di-Pertuan of Brunei since 1967 and the Prime Minister of Brunei since independence from the United Kingdom in 1984. He is one ...

appointed him as the 8th commander of the Royal Brunei Navy in 2008. The handover ceremony from his predecessor, Joharie Matussin, was held at Muara Naval Base, Muara on 16 May 2008. Prior to the commencing of the annual naval bilateral exercise, Exercise Pelican 2010, the opening ceremony was held at

Changi Naval Base Changi Naval Base (CNB), officially known as the RSS ''Singapura'' – Changi Naval Base, is a naval base of the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN). Located about 1.5 kilometres east of Changi Air Base (East) and 3.5 kilometres east of Singapore ...

and Abdul Halim commented on the relationship between

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

and Brunei, Commander Abdul Halim received a call from

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

Orwen J. Cortez,

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

Nestor Z. Ochoa, Commander Leofilo G. Pulmano to commence the bilateral naval exercise between Brunei and Philippines, named Maritime Training Activity (MTA) SEAGULL 05/12, which would last from 19 to 25 November 2012 and involved four ships; KDB ''Syafaat'' (19) and KDB ''Afiat'' (20), BRP ''Artemio Ricarte'' (PS-37) and BRP ''Mariano Alvarez'' (PS-38). Brunei hosted the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Relief and Military Medicine Exercise which lasted from 17 to 20 June 2013, he welcomed the crew and captain of the recently arrived USNS ''Matthew Perry'' (T-AKE-9) at Muara Port on 18 June. During BRIDEX 2013, he signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Commander of the

Vietnam People's Navy The Vietnam People's Navy (VPN; vi, Hải quân nhân dân Việt Nam), or the Naval Service (), also known as the Vietnamese People's Navy or simply Vietnam/Vietnamese Navy (), is the naval branch of the Vietnam People's Army and is responsi ...

, Admiral Nguyễn Văn Hiến.

Personal life

Abdul Halim is married to Umiyati binti Mohammad Noor and they have five children together. In addition, he enjoys playing

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

and

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

Honours

National

BRU Order of the Hero of the State of Brunei

Order of Pahlawan Negara Brunei The Most Gallant Order of Pahlawan Negara Brunei ( ms, Darjah Pahlawan Negara Brunei Yang Amat Perkasa), also translated as The Most Gallant Order of the Hero of the State of Brunei, is an order of Brunei. It was established on 28 November 1959 by ...

First Class (PSPNB) – Dato Seri Pahlawan (15 July 2011) *

Order of Seri Paduka Mahkota Brunei Third Class (SMB)

Order of Seri Paduka Mahkota Brunei The Most Honourable Order of Seri Paduka Mahkota Brunei ( ms, Darjah Seri Paduka Mahkota Brunei Yang Amat Mulia), also translated as The Most Honourable Order of the Crown of Brunei, is an order of Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei D ...

Third Class (SMB) * Brunei_Long_Service_Medal

Long Service Medal (Armed Forces) * Sultan's Golden Jubilee Medal (2017)

Golden Jubilee Medal – (5 October 2017) * Sultan's_Silver_Jubilee_Medal_(1992)

Silver Jubilee Medal – (5 October 1992) * Brunei General Service Medal

General Service Medal (Armed Forces) * Royal_Brunei_Armed_Forces_Silver_Jubilee_Medal

Royal Brunei Armed Forces Silver Jubilee Medal – (31 May 1986) *

Royal Brunei Armed Forces Golden Jubilee Medal – (31 May 2011)

Foreign

* : **

Pingat Jasa Gemilang The Pingat Jasa Gemilang ( en, Meritorious Service Medal) is a Singaporean national honour and medal instituted in 1962. It may be awarded to any person who has performed "''service of conspicuous merit characterised by resource and devotion to ...

(PJG) – (27 January 2011) * : ** Hilal-e-Imtiaz

Hilal-i-Imtiaz The ''Hilaal-e-Imtiaz'' (; ), also spelled and transliterated as Hilāl-e-Imtiyāz, is the second-highest (in the hierarchy of "Hilal") civilian award and honour given to both civilians and military officers of the Pakistan Armed Forces by the ...

– (18 October 2012) *: ** Bintang Jalasena Utama rib

Bintang Jalasena Utama – (11 March 2013)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abdul Halim Living people Bruneian military leaders 1965 births Bruneian Muslims Graduates of Britannia Royal Naval College