Dato' Sri

Malay titles

The Malay language has a complex system of titles and honorifics, which are still used extensively in Malaysia and Brunei. Singapore, whose Malay royalty was abolished by the British colonial government in 1891, has adopted civic titles for its leaders....

 Haji Mohd Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak (born 23 July 1953) is the sixth, and since 2009, Prime Minister of Malaysia

Prime Minister of Malaysia

The Prime Minister of Malaysia is the indirectly elected head of government of Malaysia. He is officially appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the head of state, who in HM's judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of that House of Representatives , the...

. He previously held the post of Deputy Prime Minister

Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia

Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia is the second highest political office in Malaysia. There has been ten deputy prime ministers since the office was created in 1957. Although there has always been a Deputy Prime Minister since independence, there is nothing preventing a Prime Minister from not...

 from 7 January 2004 until he succeeded Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi

Tun Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad Badawi is a Malaysian politician who served as Prime Minister from 2003 to 2009. He was also the President of the United Malays National Organisation , the largest political party in Malaysia, and led the governing Barisan Nasional parliamentary coalition...

 as Prime Minister on 3 April 2009. Najib is President of the United Malays National Organisation

United Malays National Organisation

The United Malays National Organisation, is Malaysia's largest political party; a founding member of the National Front coalition, which has played a dominant role in Malaysian politics since independence....

 (UMNO). He is the son of Malaysia's second prime minister, Tun Abdul Razak and the nephew of Malaysia's third prime minister, Tun Hussein Onn.

Najib succeeded Abdullah at a time after his ruling coalition, the Barisan Nasional

Barisan Nasional

Barisan Nasional is a major political coalition in Malaysia, formed in 1973 as the successor to the Alliance . Along with its predecessor, it has been Malaysia's federal ruling political force since independence...

, lost its long held two-thirds majority in parliament to the opposition led by former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim

Anwar Ibrahim

Anwar bin Ibrahim is a Malaysian politician who served as Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister from 1993 to 1998. Early in his career, Anwar was a close ally of Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad but subsequently emerged as the most prominent critic of Mahathir's government.In 1999, he was sentenced...

 in the 2008 parliamentary election.

Malaysian general election, 2008

The 12th Malaysian general election was held on March 8, 2008, in accordance with Malaysian laws for national elections, which states that a general election must be held no later than five years subsequent to the previous elections; the previous general election was held in 2004...

 Since then Najib has tried to build a moderate image for himself and the UMNO through the 1Malaysia

1Malaysia

1Malaysia is an on-going programme designed by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak on September 16, 2010, calling for the cabinet, government agencies, and civil servants to more strongly emphasize ethnic harmony, national unity, and efficient governance....

 campaign.
Born 23 July 1953, in Kuala Lipis, Pahang, Najib is the eldest of Prime Minister Abdul Razak's six sons, and the nephew of Hussein Onn, Malaysia’s third Prime Minister.