Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
Tun Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad Badawi ( pronunciation (help·info) AHB-doo-lah AH-mahd bah-DAH-wee;[needs IPA] Arabic: عبد الله بن حاج أحمد بدوي ʿAbdullāh ibn ḥaajj Aḥmad Badawī; born 26 November 1939) is a Malaysian politician who served as prime minister from 2003 to 2009. He was also the President of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), the largest political party in Malaysia, and led the governing Barisan Nasional parliamentary coalition. He is informally known as Pak Lah, 'Pak' meaning 'Uncle' while 'Lah' is taken from his name 'Abdullah'. He is also called as the Father of Human Capital Development (Bapa Pembangunan Modal Insan). After Anwar Ibrahim left the office due to serving in prison, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad appointed Abdullah as deputy prime minister. Abdullah went on to succeed Mahathir as prime minister in 2003. In the 2004 general election, Abdullah scored a significant victory. In the 2008 general election, Barisan Nasional won a slim majority of seats, but lost the two-thirds majority. He stepped down in favour of his successor, Najib Razak, during the UMNO General Assembly held on 1 April 2009. On 3 April 2009, he was succeeded by Najib Tun Razak as prime minister. Abdullah was then conferred the title 'Tun' by His Majesty Mizan Zainal Abidin for his service to the nation. He is also a member of parliament for Kepala Batas from 1978 till 2013.