Mohamed Zahir Ismail

Tun Mohamed Zahir bin Ismail (19 March 1924 – 14 October 2004) was a Malaysian lawyer and politician who served as Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat, the lower chamber of the Malaysian Parliament from June 1982 to his death in October 2004.

He was the longest-serving officeholder by serving for 22 years, 4 months.

He obtained his Bachelor of Laws from Lincoln's Inn in 1955.

Mohamed Zahir began practising as a lawyer from 1956.

After the independence of Malaya, he served as the Kedah State EXCO from 1959 to 1963, and briefly as Menteri Besar in 1963.

He was appointed to the Dewan Negara (the upper house) in August 1963, and completed two terms (of three years each) as a Senator.

He was actively involved in the formation of the Malaysia, serving as a diplomat to the United Nations and as the Malayan representative to the Cobbold Commission.

In 1975, he was appointed to the Kota Bharu High Court as a judge.

Now a respected figure in Malaysian politics, he was elected Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat following the 1982 general elections, a post he held for 22 years.

During his tenure, he also became President of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum and the ASEAN Inter Parliamentary Assembly.

He was also the first Chancellor of the International Medical University from 1999 to 2004.

Mohamed Zahir was born in Alor Setar, Kedah.

He attended Sekolah Kebangsaan Hosba in Jitra and later Kolej Sultan Abdul Hamid, Alor Setar.

In October 2004, Mohamed Zahir died in office due to acute renal failure in Kuala Lumpur General Hospital.

He was laid to rest beside the grave of his wife, Toh Puan Halimatun Saadiah Chik, at the Section 21 Muslim burial ground in Shah Alam, Selangor.