Azizan Abdul Razak

Azizan bin Abdul Razak (25 October 1944 – 26 September 2013) was a Malaysian politician who served as the 10th Menteri Besar (Chief Minister) of the state of Kedah from 2008 to 2013.

A member of the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), he was the first Chief Minister of Kedah from a party other than the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO).

He held the seat of Sungai Limau in the Kedah state assembly from 2004 until his death in 2013.

He was also the state commissioner for PAS in Kedah and a member of the central committee of the national party.

Azizan was elected to the State Assembly of Kedah in 2004, for the seat of Sungai Limau.

In 2008 his Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) was elected to government in Kedah, leading a coalition with the People's Justice Party (PKR) and the Democratic Action Party (DAP).

Azizan, as the leader of PAS in the state, became the first chief minister of Kedah from a party other than the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO); the 2008 victory broke a decades-long run of uninterrupted UMNO rule.

On 16 July 2008, he was conferred the Darjah Seri Paduka Mahkota Kedah (SPMK) which carried the "Datuk Seri" title.

The award was presented by Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah at Istana Anak Bukit in conjunction with the sultan's Golden Jubilee celebration.

His tenure as chief minister came to an end at the 2013 election, as UMNO, led by Mukhriz Mahathir, the son of the former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, won a majority in the assembly.

Azizan had 14 children from two marriages.

He is a graduate of Al-Azhar University and the University of Kent, and a former head of the sharia law department of the National University of Malaysia.

He conversed fluently in Malay, English, Tagalog and Arabic.

Azizan died on 26 September 2013 at the Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital's intensive care unit due to weakening health.

He was 68 years old.