Born in Alor Setar, Kedah, in 1903, the twentieth child of the Sultan of Kedah, Tunku Abdul Rahman studied at Cambridge before entering the Kedah civil service and later qualifying as a barrister in London. Returning to Malaya, he became president of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) in 1951 and built the multi-ethnic Alliance coalition with the Malayan Chinese Association and Malayan Indian Congress that dominated Malayan politics through independence. In January 1956 he led the Merdeka mission to London that secured British agreement to full self-government, and at midnight on 31 August 1957 he proclaimed Malaya's independence before a crowd in Kuala Lumpur's Merdeka Square, becoming the country's first prime minister. He negotiated the 1963 merger of Malaya with Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak to form Malaysia, managed Konfrontasi with Indonesia and Singapore's 1965 secession, and resigned in September 1970 in the aftermath of the 1969 racial riots, having been widely credited as the 'Father of Independence' (Bapa Kemerdekaan).
- Lived: 1903 CE – 1990 CE
- Nationality: malaysian
- Roles: First Prime Minister of Malaya and Malaysia (1957-1970)
