Abdullah Ahmad Badawi

Abdullah Ahamad Badawi married Endon Mahmood in the year 1965. Mahmood died of breast cancer in the year 2005.

Two years later, Badawi tied the knot again with Jeanne Abdullah. This was a second marriage for both; Jeanne had previously been married to the younger brother of Badawi's first wife. He has two step-children from his second marriage.

Abdullah bin Ahmad Badawi was born on 26 November 1939, in Bayan Lepas, Penang, Malaysia, into a prominent religious family with political inclinations. His grandfather Syeikh Abdullah was a well-respected religious leader and nationalist while his father Ahmad Badawi, was a prominent religious figure and UMNO member.

Badawi attended Bukit Mertajam High School before enrolling at the MBS (Methodist Boy's School) Penang. He proceeded to the University of Malaya and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Islamic Studies in 1964.

After completing his studies, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi joined the Malaysian Administrative and Diplomatic Corps (the formal term for the civil service) where he served as the Director of Youth at the Ministry of Youth and Sport as well as secretary of the National Operations Council (MAGERAN).

During a nationwide state of emergency in 1969-70, he served on the National Operation Council, which exercised executive power during this crucial time. By 1971 he had joined the Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Sports.

His political ambitions were on a rise and he resigned from the civil service in 1978 to enter active politics. The same year he was appointed to the Federal Territory Ministry, his first administrative position. Also in 1978, he became a member of parliament for his constituency of Kepala Batas in northern Seberang Perai.

In 1988, the then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad elected Badawi as the Vice President of the newly established United Malays National Organisation (UMNO.)

In 1990, he retained his position as the Vice President, after which he was appointed to the position of Foreign Minister in the Cabinet, a position he held until 1999.

A strong supporter of the belief that wealth is created by foreign investment, government contracts, and privatization, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had been heavily involved in foreign policy making and value chain development during his tenure as the prime minister. It was under his premiership that Malaysia entered into a historic free trade agreement with Japan that enabled both countries to commence on mutually profitable foreign trade.