Politics
Mahathir Mohamad
Prime Minister of Malaysia, 1981–2003 and 2018–2020
Born 1925
Photo: kremlin.ru · CC BY 4.0
Mahathir Mohamad governed Malaysia for twenty-two years, presiding over rapid industrialisation, and then returned to office at ninety-two after winning an election against his former party. He trained and practised as a doctor first.
Key achievements
- Prime Minister of Malaysia, 1981–2003 and 2018–2020
- Drove the industrialisation that transformed Malaysia
- Returned to power at 92, the world's oldest leader
Universities
Singapore, Kent Ridge
Studied medicine at the King Edward VII College of Medicine in Singapore, a predecessor of NUS, qualifying in 1953.
Facts
- He became the world's oldest serving head of government when he returned to office in 2018.
- He met his wife Siti Hasmah at the medical college; she was one of very few women studying medicine there.
- He practised as a government doctor and then in his own clinic before entering politics full time.
Photographs
Photographs come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences; the author and licence are shown on each image.