Mahathir Mohamad

Mahathir bin Mohamad, in full Datuk Seri Mahathir bin Mohamad, Mohamad also spelled Mohamed or Muhammed, born December 20, 1925, Alor Setar, Kedah, Malaysia. Malaysian politician who served as prime minister of Malaysia (1981–2003; 2018– ), overseeing the country’s transition to an industrialized nation.

Mahathir, the son of a schoolmaster, was educated at Sultan Abdul Hamid College and the University of Malaya in Singapore, where he studied medicine. After graduating in 1953, he worked as a government medical officer until 1957 and then entered private practice.

He was first elected to parliament in 1964 as a member of the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), the dominant party within the ruling governmental coalition. In 1969, however, Mahathir was expelled from UMNO after his forceful advocacy of ethnic Malay nationalism brought him into conflict with Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman.