Abdul Razak Hussein

Abdul Razak Hussein was a Malaysian lawyer and politician who served as the second Prime Minister of Malaysia from 1970 to 1976. He is known as the Father of Development and the creator of Barisan Nasional, the ruling coalition of political parties in Malaysia. He also launched the Malaysian New Economic Policy (MNEP) to reduce poverty and increase the participation of Malays in the economy. He was also instrumental in drafting the Razak Report that reformed the education system in Malaysia. He was born in Pekan, Pahang, to a prominent Malay family. He studied law in the United Kingdom and joined the civil service in 1950. He entered politics in 1955 and was a key figure in gaining Malaysia's independence from Britain in 1957. He held various ministerial posts, including education, defence, finance, and foreign affairs. He became the deputy prime minister in 1957 and succeeded Tunku Abdul Rahman as the prime minister in 1970. He was also the president of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), the dominant party in the coalition. He died of leukemia in London in 1976 and was buried at the Makam Pahlawan near the Masjid Negara in Kuala Lumpur. He was married to Rahah Noah and had five sons, one of whom, Najib Razak, became the sixth prime minister of Malaysia in 2009.