HRH Prince Tunku Abdul Rahman

After his early education in Bangkok, Tunku Abdulrahman traveled to study in St. Catherine’s College at Cambridge University, where he received a BA in law and history in 1925. After returning to Kada, he joined the Civil Service, first as a Cadet in the Legal Advisor’s office, then as a District Officer in several districts. In 1951, he became the President of United Malays National Organization (UMNO). He traveled in all parts of the Federation to promote unity. In 1955, the UNMO won the first general elections in the Federation and Tunku Abdulrahman became a Chief Minister. In the same year, he led a delegation for talks with the British that led to the independence of Malaya in 1957, and Abdulrahman became the country’s first Prime Minister. He was reelected for a second term, during which he convened talks with the British that led to the unity of the Federation and the emergence of the new nation of Malaysia. HRH Prince Tunku Abdulrahman led the Malaysian liberation movement during the British occupation of his country, where he is known as the Father of Independence.

In 1960, Prince Abdulrahman founded the Birkim Islamic Society, which supported Cambodian Muslim refugees in Malaysia. He was also the first Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference and a Founding Member of the Islamic Development Bank.

He was also the sponsor of the Regional Council for Islamic Daawa for South-East Asia and the Pacific in Kuala Lumpur.

Prince Tunku Abdulrahman was awarded Honorary Doctorate degrees from Cambridge University, Aligarth Muslim University of India, Seoul National University, Areneta University in the Philippines, and the universities of Malaya, Sydney and Saigon.

This biography was written in the year the prize was awarded.