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Collection · Politics

1957—Today

Malaysia’s
Prime Ministers

Ten premierships, nine people and one office at the centre of Malaysia’s story—from independence and development to reform and political realignment.

How to use this collection

Start with the office timeline, then open a biography for the person’s full chronology, historical context, image credit and reviewed sources. Mahathir Mohamad appears twice in the timeline because he served two non-consecutive terms.

Open the complete term-by-term list
  1. 01Tunku Abdul Rahman
  2. 02Abdul Razak Hussein
  3. 03Hussein Onn
  4. 04Mahathir Mohamad
  5. 05Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
  6. 06Najib Razak
  7. 07Mahathir Mohamad
  8. 08Muhyiddin Yassin
  9. 09Ismail Sabri Yaakob
  10. 10Anwar Ibrahim

Nine biographies

Meet every holder of the office

Tunku Abdul Rahman photographed during his visit to the Netherlands in May 1960
MalaysiaPolitics

1903—1990

Tunku Abdul Rahman

First Prime Minister of MalaysiaThe independence leader who became Malaya’s first prime minister and helped define the federation that would become modern Malaysia.Read biography
Abdul Razak Hussein during an official visit in 1968
MalaysiaPolitics

1922—1976

Abdul Razak Hussein

Second Prime Minister of MalaysiaMalaysia’s second prime minister, remembered for rural development, post-1969 reconstruction and a far-reaching programme of social and economic restructuring.Read biography
MalaysiaPolitics

1922—1990

Hussein Onn

Third Prime Minister of MalaysiaA soldier, civil servant and lawyer who became Malaysia’s third prime minister and made national unity the defining language of his administration.Read biography
Mahathir Mohamad speaking at Chatham House in 2018
MalaysiaPolitics

1925—

Mahathir Mohamad

Fourth and seventh Prime Minister of MalaysiaA physician-politician whose two premierships—separated by fifteen years—made him the longest-serving and one of the most consequential leaders in Malaysian history.Read biography
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in New Delhi in 2004
MalaysiaPolitics

1939—2025

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi

Fifth Prime Minister of MalaysiaA career civil servant and politician whose premiership opened with a reform mandate and Malaysia’s largest parliamentary victory.Read biography
Najib Razak at a joint press briefing in 2015
MalaysiaPolitics

1953—

Najib Razak

Sixth Prime Minister of MalaysiaA political heir who led Malaysia for nine years before an historic election defeat and convictions in the SRC International and main 1MDB cases.Read biography
Muhyiddin Yassin at an official event in Sarawak in 2021
MalaysiaPolitics

1947—

Muhyiddin Yassin

Eighth Prime Minister of MalaysiaA veteran Johor politician who became prime minister after the 2020 coalition crisis and governed through the most disruptive phase of the pandemic.Read biography
Ismail Sabri Yaakob delivering remarks in Jakarta on 1 April 2022
MalaysiaPolitics

1960—

Ismail Sabri Yaakob

Ninth Prime Minister of MalaysiaA long-serving minister who became prime minister during the pandemic and led Malaysia through reopening, a cross-party reform accord and the 2022 election.Read biography
Anwar Ibrahim during a meeting in Kuala Lumpur in 2019
MalaysiaPolitics

1947—

Anwar Ibrahim

Tenth Prime Minister of MalaysiaA student activist turned government minister, opposition leader and Malaysia’s tenth prime minister after one of the longest routes to national office.Read biography