Who Is the Emperor of Bir Tawil?

Brendan Smith I is the founding monarch of the Sovereign Empire of Brendania and the first of the House of Smith. The Empire was proclaimed by Declaration of Independence on October 21, 2026, and its founding instruments identify Bir Tawil, the territory between Egypt and Sudan that neither state claims, as the territory of the Empire.

The Imperial Constitution vests the Crown in Brendan Smith I. The Imperial Act of Ratification confirms his adopted style and provides for hereditary succession within the House of Smith. The regnal numeral "I" marks him as the first monarch of the dynasty.

The styles below are fixed by the founding instruments.

Brendania is a hereditary imperial monarchy. Under the Imperial Constitution the Emperor is Head of State and Head of Government, holds executive and legislative authority, appoints ministers and officials, negotiates treaties on behalf of the Empire, is custodian of national honours, and promulgates decrees and constitutional amendments.

The offices of state beneath the Crown are constituted by Imperial Decree as the Empire grows.

Bir Tawil has been claimed before, most famously by Jeremiah Heaton in 2014 and Suyash Dixit in 2017. Brendania's claim is set apart by the documents behind it: a Declaration of Independence, a full Imperial Constitution, and an Act of Ratification fixing the dynasty, the succession, and the Emperor's style.

The Empire also maintains a public record. Its statements, its chronicle of state acts, and its register of correspondence are published on this website.

The Crown's foreign policy is peaceful engagement. The Emperor has written to the diplomatic representatives of Egypt and Sudan to open relations concerning the territory.

Brendan Smith I is Emperor under the founding instruments of the sovereign state he constituted, over a territory no other state claims. The Empire is seeking formal diplomatic recognition from Egypt, Sudan, and the wider international community.

The Emperor's aim is to build on the founding declaration an enduring imperial state, with records, institutions, and peaceful relationships with Egypt, Sudan, and the communities of the region.