Muedzul Lail Tan Kiram (born 28 August 1966) is the head of the Royal House of Sulu, a position which he has held since 16 February 1986. As the eldest son of the former Sultan Mohammad Mahakuttah Abdulla Kiram (who reigned 1974–1986), he is the legitimate heir claimant to the throne of the

Sultanate of Sulu The Sultanate of Sulu ( Tausūg: ''Kasultanan sin Sūg'', كاسولتانن سين سوڬ; Malay: ''Kesultanan Sulu''; fil, Sultanato ng Sulu; Chavacano: ''Sultanato de Sulu/Joló''; ar, سلطنة سولك) was a Muslim state that ruled ...

. He is a

pretender A pretender is someone who claims to be the rightful ruler of a country although not recognized as such by the current government. The term is often used to suggest that a claim is not legitimate.Curley Jr., Walter J. P. ''Monarchs-in-Waiting'' ...

to the throne as the 35th Sultan of Sulu.

Personal life

Muedzul Lail Tan Kiram was born on 28 August 1966 on the island of Jolo in present-day Philippines, the eldest son of Mohammad Mahakuttah Abdulla Kiram, 34th Sultan of Sulu and North Borneo and his first wife Dayang-Dayang Farida Tan-Kiram. Muedzul Lail Tan Kiram studied at

Universidad de Zamboanga Universidad de Zamboanga (UZ) is a private nonsectarian coeducational higher education institution in Zamboanga City, Philippines, founded on October 12, 1948, by Engr. Arturo Eustaquio, Sr. It was formerly known as Zamboanga A.E. Colleges unti ...

Zamboanga City Zamboanga City, officially the City of Zamboanga (Chavacano and es, Ciudad de Zamboanga, Tausūg: ''Dāira sin Sambuangan'', fil, Lungsod ng Zamboanga, ceb, Dakbayan sa Zamboanga), is a city in the Zamboanga Peninsula region of the Philipp ...

where he got his Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree. Between 1995 and 1996, he continued his higher studies in Islam in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th List of largest cities, most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is th ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. As of 2016, he lives on the island of

Jolo Jolo ( tsg, Sūg) is a volcanic island in the southwest Philippines and the primary island of the province of Sulu, on which the capital of the same name is situated. It is located in the Sulu Archipelago, between Borneo and Mindanao, and has ...

. Currently, he is also involved as a local civic leader on the island and

Sulu Sulu (), officially the Province of Sulu ( Tausūg: ''Wilāya sin Lupa' Sūg''; tl, Lalawigan ng Sulu), is a province of the Philippines in the Sulu Archipelago and part of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). Its cap ...

in general, regularly meeting with the local population. He is married to Ampun Dayang Babai Mellany S. Kiram and has seven children: # Raja Muda Moh. Ehsn S. Kiram # Datu Nizamuddin S. Kiram # Dayang-Dayang Rahela S. Kiram # Datu Jihad S. Kiram # Datu Mujahid S. Kiram # Dayang-Dayang Redha S. Kiram # Datu Mahakuttah S. Kiram

Coronation

Datu Muedzul Lail Tan Kiram was crowned as Raja Muda (Crown Prince) of Sulu on 24 May 1974 beside his father in Sulu, under Memorandum Order No. 427, which was issued by President

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. ( , , ; September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, dictator, and kleptocrat who was the 10th president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martial ...

, President of Philippines. The ceremony was held in Jolo, Sulu. Muedzul Lail Tan Kiram is the last recognised Raja Muda (Crown Prince) by the

Philippine government The Government of the Philippines ( fil, Pamahalaan ng Pilipinas) has three interdependent branches: the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The Philippines is governed as a unitary state under a presidential representative and d ...

. When his father died in 1986, Muedzul Lail Tan Kiram could not take the crown because of his age, which led to relatives trying to claim the crown for themselves. Raja Muda Muedzul Lail Tan Kiram was crowned Sultan in a coronation event on the island of Jolo on 16 September 2012.

Acceptance

The

Mindanao Examiner The ''Mindanao Examiner'' is an independent regional newspaper published and edited every week with general circulation in Mindanao, Philippines. It is located at the Unit 15, 3F Fairland Bldg., Mayor Vitaliano Agan Avenue, Zamboanga City. It ...

recognizes Sultan Kiram as the "legitimate Sultan of Sulu and North Borneo." Sultan Kiram is acknowledged as the Sultan of Sulu by the former Chairman of the

Mindanao Development Authority The Mindanao Development Authority ( Filipino: ''Pangasiwaang Pangkaunlaran ng Mindanao'', abbreviated MinDA) is a government agency of the Philippines created through Republic Act 9996 or the Mindanao Development Authority Act of 2010. The offic ...

Emmanuel Piñol Emmanuel "Manny" Fantin Piñol (born December 16, 1953) is a Filipino politician, journalist, writer, agriculture advocate and agribusinessman. He most recently served in President Rodrigo Duterte's cabinet as chairman of the Mindanao Develop ...

Nikkei Asia ''Nikkei Asia'', known as ''Nikkei Asian Review'' between 2013 and 2020, is a major Japan-based English-language weekly news magazine focussed on the Asian continent, although it also covers broader international developments. It is headquartered ...

identifies him as the "reigning sultan" of Sulu. The

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

describes Muedzul Lail Tan Kiram as the "living sultan of Sulu". A leading broadsheet in the Philippines, the Daily Tribune constantly publishes Sultan Muedzul Kiram as the Sultan of Sulu. On his official Twitter account,

Teodoro Locsin Jr. Teodoro "Teddy Boy" Lopez Locsin Jr. (born November 15, 1948) is a Filipino politician, diplomat, lawyer, and former journalist who is currently serving as the Philippine Ambassador to the United Kingdom since August 30, 2022. He previously ...

, former

Secretary of Foreign Affairs (Philippines) The secretary of foreign affairs ( Filipino: ''Kalihim ng Ugnayang Panlabas'') is the Cabinet of the Philippines member in charge of implementing foreign policy for the government of the Philippines as the head of the Department of Foreign Affa ...

acknowledged a letter addressed to him from Sultan Kiram.

Royal and Hashemite Order of the Pearl

Sultan Muedzul Lail Tan Kiram awards the

Royal and Hashemite Order of the Pearl The Royal and Hashemite Order of the Pearl is the dynastic order of the Royal House of Sulu, which serves as the premier institution and the highest personal honour of and in the Royal Sultanate of Sulu. The order is an honourable and nobiliar ...

as a formal Royal Honour. Notable members of the Order include

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiolo ...

awardee and

President of Poland The president of Poland ( pl, Prezydent RP), officially the president of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Prezydent Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej), is the head of state of Poland. Their rights and obligations are determined in the Constitution of Pola ...

Lech Walesa Lech may refer to: People * Lech (name), a name of Polish origin * Lech, the legendary founder of Poland * Lech (Bohemian prince) Products and organizations * Lech (beer), Polish beer produced by Kompania Piwowarska, in Poznań * Lech Pozna� ...

. The Philippine government has officially recognized the continued existence of the Sultanate of Sulu as recorded on the Philippine Gazette in 1957 and 1962.

Regnal name

Kiram's full regnal name is ''His Royal Majesty Paduka Mahasari Al- Maulana Ampun Sultan Hadji Muedzul-Lail Tan Kiram ibni Almarhum Sultan Mohammad Mahakuttah Abdulla Kiram, The 35th Sultan of Sulu and North Borneo.''

Honours and awards

Muedzul Lail Tan Kiram has received honours from a number of Royal Houses and other awards: * Grand Cross - Order of the Eagle of Georgia

Grand Cross Grand Cross is the highest class in many orders, and manifested in its insignia. Exceptionally, the highest class may be referred to as Grand Cordon or equivalent. In other cases, there may exist a rank even higher than Grand Cross, e.g. Grand ...

, Order of the Eagle of Georgia and the Seamless Tunic of Our Lord Jesus Christ (Georgia) * Grand Cordon,

Imperial Order of the Dragon of Annam The Imperial Order of the Dragon of Annam (, , ; french: Ordre impérial du Dragon d'Annam, Ordre du Dragon Vert) was created in 1886 in the city of Huế, by Emperor Đồng Khánh of the Imperial House of Annam, upon the "recommendation" of t ...

(Vietnam) *

Grand Cordon, Order of the Ethiopian Lion * ENGABU

Royal Order of the Engabu (Kingdom of Bunyoro-Kitara - Uganda) * Ehrenkreuz

Honorary Cross, Royal and merciful Society of Belgium * US President's Lifetime Achievement Award * Grand Cross of the Royal Confraternity Of Saint Teotonio *Accademico d'Onore Classe Speciale - Real Academia Sancti Ambrosii Martyris Italia

2013 Lahad Datu standoff

Sultan Muedzul Lail Tan Kiram clearly and emphatically decried these actions led by

Jamalul Kiram III Jamalul ibni Punjungan Kiram III (16 July 1938 – 20 October 2013) was a former self-proclaimed Sultan of the Sulu Sultanate who claimed to be "the poorest sultan in the world". He was known as an unsuccessful candidate for senator in the Ph ...

, a self-proclaimed pretender to the throne in a press release and on a

Malaysiakini ''Malaysiakini'' (meaning in English: "Malaysia Now") is an online news portal published in Malay, English, Chinese and Tamil. Malaysiakini receives over 2.3 million page-views per day on desktop and mobile. Alexa ranked ''malaysiakini.co ...

TV interview.

Genealogy

Muedzul Lail Tan Kiram is the grandson of Sultan Mohammed Esmail Kiram (1950–1973) while Sultan Muwallil Wasit II (1936) was his great-grandfather and Sultan Jamalul Kiram II (1893–1936) was his great-granduncle. He is a direct male descendant and the legitimate heir to throne of the Sultanate of Sulu.

Ancestry

Muedzul Lail Tan Kiram's

patriline Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritanc ...

is the line from which he is descended father to son. ;House of Kiram # Sultan Alimud Din I # Sultan Sharapud Din # Sultan Alimud Din II # Sultan Jamalul Kiram I # Sultan Mohammed Polalun Kiram # Sultan Jamalul Alam # Sultan Mawallil Wasit Kiram # Sultan Mohammed Esmail Kiram # Sultan Mohammed Mahakuttah Kiram # Raja Muda Muedzul Lail Tan Kiram

References

External links

Royal and Hashemite Order of the Pearl of Sulu

The official website of Royal House of Sulu

Line of succession of the Sultans of Sulu of the Modern Era
from the Official Gazette of the Republic of the

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 ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kiram, Muedzul Lail Tan 1966 births Filipino people of Chinese descent People from Sulu Filipino datus, rajas and sultans Filipino Muslims Claimants of the Sultanate of Sulu throne Living people Tausūg people