Sultan of Johor

This article concerns the sultan of Johor. For the sultanate, see Sultanate of Johor.

Sultan of Johor is a hereditary seat and the nominal ruler of the Malaysian state of Johor. In the past, the sultan held absolute power over the state and was advised by a bendahara. Nowadays, the role of bendahara has been taken over by a more powerful chief minister with the sultan's office being reduced to a figurehead function.

The first sultan of Johor was Alauddin Riayat Shah II. He was the son of the last sultan of Malacca, Sultan Mahmud Shah. The scion of the Sultanate of Malacca in Johor ended with the death of Sultan Mahmud Shah II in 1699 and throne was taken over by Sultan Abdul Jalil IV. Abdul Jalil IV was a bendahara before the death of the sultan.

Though Johor has been ruled over by at least 20 sultans, the first sultan of modern Johor was Sultan Abu Bakar that reigned from 1862 to 1895. He was the first person from the a temenggung family to become the sultan in Johor's history. His father, Temenggung Ibrahim managed to consolidate enough power to disfranchise Sultan Ali that died in 1877.

The office of sultan is currently being held by Sultan Iskandar Al-Haj ibni Almarhum Sultan Sir Ismail Al-Khalidi, a descendant of Sultan Abu Bakar.