Ismail Abdul Rahman

Ismail bin Abdul Rahman (Jawi: اسماعيل بن عبدالرحمن; 4 November 1915 – 2 August 1973) was a Malaya politician who served as Malaya's Prime Minister from 1964 until 1972.

Early Life and Career
Ismail was born on 4 November 1915 in Johor Bahru, Johor. He was the son of Abdul Rahman bin Yassin, who was of Buginese descent. Abdul Rahman was the first President of the Dewan Negara (Senate) of the Parliament of Malaya, cabinet minister and also the first chairman of Malayan Banking.Ismail was raised by his maternal grandmother due to his mother's various illnesses, and received his primary education at Sekolah Bukit Zaharah, although his education was interrupted by frequent trips to see distant relatives. Ismail's initial friends were predominantly Malay, but when he continued his education at the English College Johore Bahru.Ismail's father believed strongly in the benefits of education and Ismail himself went on to obtain a degree at the King Edward VII College of Medicine in Singapore. In 1945, he became the first Malay to obtain a MBBS from University of Melbourne, Australia.

Ismail focused on his private practice, founding the Tawakkal (Trust in God) Clinic which he ran from 1947 to 1953. During this period, Ismail co-founded the Malay Graduates' Association, a political discussion group for intellectuals. Ismail observed:

It was impossible to influence people to support the independence movement merely by writing articles because time was against it and in any case all the newspapers that enjoyed a wide circulation were not anxious to do the wrong thing against the government in power. It was also impractical for the intellectuals to form their own party because such a party would not get mass support. The only alternative was to join a political party that already had mass support and which could be directed to fight for the independence of the country.

Politics
Ismail entered Malaysian politics in 1951 when he was elected as vice-president of the Malaya National Party (MNP). He had earlier been the nominee of the Malay Graduates Association to the MNP Central Executive Committee. Initially, Ismail and his brother Suleiman, also an MNP member, and Ismail was also instrumental in gaining a greater amount of autonomy for the local government.In 1957 general election, Ismail contest and won the seats of Johor Timor and were appointed as Minister of Home Affairs.

Deputy Prime Minister
In 1962, Ismail were appointed as Prime Minister after the sudden death of Sheriff Osman and he defeated the other candidates such as Sardon Jubir, Syed Jaafar Albar and Yusof Ishak for the post.Ismail who saw as brave,discipline, and integrity personal were the major favourite for the post.He served as Deputy Prime Minister until 1964 when Nik Ahmad Kamil announced his sudden resignation.