Abdullah Ahmad Badawi

Prime Minister of Malaysia

Abdullah bin Ahmad Badawi 26 November 1939 Bayan Lepas, Penang, Straits Settlements

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31 October 2003 – 3 April 2009

Malaysian politician,5th Prime Minister of Malaysia In this Malay name, there is no family name. The name Ahmad Badawi is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Abdullah. Tun Abdullah bin Ahmad Badawi (Jawi: عبدالله بن أحمد بداوي; born 26 November 1939) is a Malaysian politician who served as the 5th Prime Minister of Malaysia from 2003 to 2009. He was also the President of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), the largest political party (that time) in Malaysia, and led the governing Barisan Nasional parliamentary coalition. He is informally known as Pak Lah, Pak meaning 'Uncle', while Lah is taken from his name 'Abdullah'. He is also referred to as the "Father of Human Capital Development" (Bapa Pembangunan Modal Insan). After Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was dismissed, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad appointed Abdullah as Deputy Prime Minister in 1999. Abdullah went on to succeed Mahathir as Prime Minister in 2003. In the 2004 general election, Abdullah scored a significant victory. In the 2008 general election, Barisan Nasional won a slim majority of seats but lost its two-thirds majority and also lost 5 states to Opposition Pact. He stepped down in favour of his successor, Najib Razak, during the UMNO General Assembly held on 1 April 2009. On 3 April 2009, he was succeeded by Najib Razak as prime minister. Abdullah was then conferred the title 'Tun' by King Mizan Zainal Abidin for his service to the nation. He was also a Member of Parliament for Kepala Batas for eight consecutive terms, that was from 1978 to 2013. Currently, he serves as the Chancellor of Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP).