Sjarifuddin Sjah

Independence of Indonesia in 1949, and the sultan title temporarily lapsed after the death of his father in 1975. However, his younger brother Mudaffar Sjah, born from a more high-ranking consort, was generally accepted as the heir; he was formally installed in 1986, though unofficially from Jakarta's point of view.^[1] The sultanate gained leverage after the end of Suharto's New Order, with a revival of old traditions. However, after Mudaffar Sjah's dead in 2015 a conflict emerged within the sultan's family as to who was the right successor.^[2] The late sultan had several sons with different wives, complicating the issue. Eventually Mudaffar's brother Sjarifuddin was enthroned on 4 September 2016 by the dignitaries Kimelaha Tamadi and Kimelaha Marsaoly. The ceremony took place in the Kadato Ico palace in Soa Sio, northern Ternate. It was understood to be a pragmatic agreement in order to put an end to the contest between three sons of Mudaffar.^[3] Sjarifuddin's role was that of executive sultan (pelaksana sultan) and he did not officiate over some of the ceremonies traditionally associated with Ternatan kingship.^[4] His time was short since he died in Jakarta in 2019. He was succeeded by a son of Mudaffar Sjah, Hidayatullah Sjah who was crowned as the 49th Sultan of Ternate on 18 December 2021.^[5]