Mahathir bin Mohamad
Born on 20 December, 1925 in Kedah, Malaysia
H.E. Tun Dr. Mahathir led the alliance of opposition parties to an electoral victory on May 9. He was sworn in as Prime Minister after a 15-year break on May 10, 2018.
He was Prime Minister of Malaysia from 1981 to 2003. During this period he opened the country to foreign investment, reformed taxation, reduced trade barriers, oversaw the privatisation of numerous state-owned enterprises and created a world-class physical infrastructure. He also sought to bridge Malaysia's ethnic divide by increasing general prosperity.
In 1991, he launched the New Development Policy, which emphasised industrial and commercial development and the elimination of poverty. Under Tun Dr. Mahathir's leadership, Malaysia developed into one of the most prosperous and dynamic economies in Southeast Asia, with a burgeoning industrial sector, an expanding middle class and enhanced quality of life.
In 1995, Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) initiative was introduced to make Malaysia a global player in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry.
Malaysia also played a more active role in the international arena, acting as the voice for developing nations in Asia and Africa. Always with one eye on the future, Tun Dr. Mahathir unveiled Vision 2020 in 1991, a blueprint for Malaysia's journey to becoming a developed economy and a mature democracy by the year 2020.
He is also the Honorary President of Perdana Leadership Foundation (PLF), a think-tank set up to preserve, develop and disseminate the intellectual heritage of past leaders; the Chairman of Kuala Lumpur Foundation to Criminalise War (KLFCW) and President of Perdana Global Peace Foundation (PGPF).
However, in 2015, Tun Dr. Mahathir decided to come out of his political retirement. Following that, Tun Dr. Mahathir and several like-minded political leaders had formed the Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) in which he is the chairman.
Tun Dr. Mahathir is married to a doctor, Tun Dr. Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali, and they have seven children and sixteen grandchildren.
