Mahathir Mohamad

Mahathir bin Mohamad (Jawi: محاضر بن محمد; Malay: [mahade(r) muhammad, -ðe(r)] ; born 10 July 1925) is a Malaysian politician, physician and author who served as the fourth and seventh prime minister of Malaysia from 1981 to 2003 and again from 2018 to 2020. He was the country's longest-serving prime minister, serving for a cumulative total of 24 years. His political career has spanned more than 75 years, from joining protests opposing citizenship policies for non-Malays in the Malayan Union in the 1940s to forming the Gerakan Tanah Air coalition in 2022. During his premiership, Mahathir was granted the title "Father of Modernisation" (Malay: Bapa Pemodenan) for his pivotal role in transforming the country's economy and infrastructure. At 101 years old, he is the second-oldest living former state leader in the world and the first Malaysian prime minister to reach that age.

Born and raised in Alor Setar, Kedah, Mahathir excelled at school and became a physician. He became active in UMNO before entering the parliament of Malaysia in 1964 as the Member of Parliament for Kota Setar Selatan, serving until he lost his seat in 1969, subsequently falling out with Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman and being expelled from UMNO. In 1970, he released the book The Malay Dilemma. When Tunku resigned, Mahathir re-entered UMNO and parliament through Kubang Pasu constituency, and was promoted to Minister of Education from 1974 to 1978 and Minister of Trade and Industry from 1978 to 1981. He became deputy prime minister in 1976 before being sworn in as prime minister in 1981.