Tunku Abdul Rahman
Prime Minister of Malaysia from 1957 to 1970 / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj ibni Almarhum Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah (Jawi: تونكو عبد الرحمن ڤوترا الحاج ابن سلطان عبد الحميد حليم شاه; 8 February 1903 – 6 December 1990) was a Malaysian statesman and lawyer who served as the first prime minister of Malaysia and the head of government of its predecessor states from 1955 to 1970. He was the first chief minister of the Federation of Malaya from 1955 to 1957. He supervised the independence process that culminated on 31 August 1957. As an independent Malaysia's first prime minister, he dominated the country's politics for the next 13 years.
Tunku Abdul Rahman | |
|---|---|
تونكو عبد الرحمن | |
 Tunku in 1960 | |
| 1st Prime Minister of Malaysia | |
| In office 31 August 1957 – 22 September 1970 | |
| Monarchs | |
| Deputy | Abdul Razak Hussein |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Abdul Razak Hussein |
| Chief Minister of Malaya | |
| In office 1 August 1955 – 31 August 1957 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| High Commissioner | Donald MacGillivray |
| 2nd President of the United Malays National Organisation | |
| In office 25 August 1951 – 23 January 1971 | |
| Preceded by | Onn Jaafar |
| Succeeded by | Abdul Razak Hussein |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 1 September 1960 – 22 September 1970 | |
| Monarchs |
|
| Prime Minister | Himself |
| Preceded by | Ismail Abdul Rahman |
| Succeeded by | Abdul Razak Hussein |
| Minister of Youth and Sports | |
| In office 1964–1966 | |
| Monarchs |
|
| Prime Minister | Himself |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Senu Abdul Rahman |
| Minister of External Affairs | |
| In office 31 August 1957 – 2 February 1959 | |
| Monarch |
|
| Prime Minister | Himself |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Ismail Abdul Rahman |
| Minister of Home Affairs | |
| In office 9 August 1955 – 30 August 1957 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| High Commissioner | Donald MacGillivray |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Ismail Abdul Rahman |
| 1st Secretary General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation | |
| In office 1970–1973 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Hassan Al-Touhami |
| 5th President of AFC | |
| In office 1958 – 11 December 1977 | |
| Preceded by | Nam Cheong Chan |
| Succeeded by | Kambiz Atabay |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1903-02-08)8 February 1903 Istana Tia Tangga, Alor Setar, Kedah Sultanate, Siam (now Malaysia) |
| Died | 6 December 1990(1990-12-06) (aged 87) Kuala Lumpur Hospital, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
| Resting place | Kedah Royal Mausoleum, Langgar, Kedah, Malaysia |
| Political party | United Malays National Organisation (1946–1988) |
| Spouses | Bibi Chong (m. 1963) |
| Children | 7 |
| Parents |
|
| Education | Sultan Abdul Hamid College Debsirin School Penang Free School |
| Alma mater | St Catharine's College, Cambridge (BA in Law and History) Inner Temple |
| Profession | Lawyer |
| Signature |  |
In 1963, he successfully incorporated the Federation of Malaya, British North Borneo (renamed Sabah), Sarawak, and Singapore into the state of Malaysia. However, tensions between the Malay and Chinese communities resulted in Singapore's expulsion in 1965. His poor performance during race riots in Kuala Lumpur in 1969 led to his resignation in 1970. Commonly known simply as "Tunku" (a Malay royal title), Abdul Rahman is widely regarded, even by his critics, as Malaysia's "founding father", the architect of Malayan independence and of the formation of Malaysia. As such, he is often referred to as Father of Independence (Bapa Kemerdekaan) or Father of Malaysia (Bapa Malaysia).[1][2]