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ANWAR
IBRAHIM: BIO AND
ARTICLES (MaximsNews.com,
UN)
UNITED NATIONS - / www.MaximsNews.com,
UN/ -
30 June 2006- MaximsNews
columnist and potential
U.N. Secretary-General
candidate, Anwar Ibrahim
is the former deputy
prime minister of
Malaysia.
ANWAR IBRAHIM was
born on August 10, 1947
in Penang, Malaysia. He
received his early
education at his
hometown before joining
the Malay College Kuala
Kangsar, a prestigious
school that has produced
several generations of
Malaysian leaders. The
college provided the
environment for him to
develop a keen interest
in literature and public
speaking.
He joined the
University of Malaya at
a time when Malaysia was
undergoing rapid changes
and that coincided with
student rebellion all
over the world. Anwar
was active as a student
leader and was elected
president of several
student organizations.
He graduated in 1971.
After graduation,
Anwar established his
own school to cater for
poor dropouts. He
pursued his interest in
social activism and was
elected president of the
National Youth Council
in 1974 and
international committee
member of the World
Assembly of Youth.
He founded the
Malaysian Youth Movement
of Malaysia in 1971 and
was its president for 10
years. As Muslim youth
leader he initiated a
series of interfaith
dialogue and forged
solidarity with youth of
other faiths in quest
for social justice.
In 1973 he was appointed
as a member of the Ad
Hoc Advisory Group to
the United Nations
Secretary General on
Youth Affairs. Anwar was
detained without trial
for 18 months in 1974
following students’
protest in support of
poor peasants.
Anwar was first
elected member of
Malaysian parliament in
1982 and subsequently
appointed as a deputy
minister. In the same
year he mounted a
successful challenge to
take over the leadership
of the Youth wing of
UMNO, the anchor party
of the ruling coalition.
He joined the
cabinet as Minister of
Youth in 1983 and later
served as minister of
education and finance.
In 1987 Anwar was
elected Vice-President
of UMNO. While serving
as Minister of Education
Anwar was elected
President of the UNESCO
General Conference
(1991).
Together with the
late Prof. Ismail al-Faruqi
(Temple University,
Philadelphia) and Dr.
Taha Jabir al-Awani,
Anwar founded the IIIT
(International Institute
of Islamic Thought) in
1981 and later set up
the Graduate School of
Islamic and Social
Sciences in Ashburn,
Virginia.
In 1993 Anwar was
elected Deputy President
of UMNO and appointed
Deputy Prime Minister
while he continued to
serve as Finance
Minister. In the same
year he chaired the
Asean-Vietnam Study
Group, which prepared
the report Shared
Destiny: Southeast Asia
in the 21st Century
recommending the entry
of Vietnam into Asean.
In that year Euromoney
magazine mentioned him
to be one of the top
four finance ministers
of the year and in 1996
Asiamoney named him as
Finance Minister of the
Year. He was elected
Chairman of the
Development Committee of
the IMF-World Bank
annual meeting in 1997.
His
interests in the role of
culture led him to
organize in 1995-1998, a
series of conferences on
the Asian Renaissance,
aimed at crossing
geo-political barriers
between societies and
nations and creating
political structures to
promote dialogue across
cultures and
civilizations.
Anwar jointly
chaired the Pacific
Dialogue (1994-1997)
with Senator William
Cohen. The group,
comprising leaders from
various disciplines
across many nations in
the Pacific Rim, were
engaged in considering
the challenges facing
the Asia-Pacific region
in the 21st Century and
how it might attain
lasting peace and
prosperity. The group
succeeded in formulating
a “Pacific Charter”
which sketched out a
vision of a world in
which there is not a
clash of civilizations,
but rather a "feast
of civilizations,"
a world characterized by
interdependence,
democracy, cooperative
solutions and a rising
tide of economic growth
that lifts all nations.
In 1996 he was
awarded the Presidential
Medal by Georgetown
University, Washington
DC and honorary
doctorate by the Ateneo
de Manila University,
the Philippines, for his
contribution in
promoting
inter-religious
understanding.
In 1998 Newsweek
International named him
Asian of the Year.
He was sacked from
the government on
September 2, 1998, later
stripped of his party
membership and
incarcerated on 20
September on trumped-up
charges. He
regained his freedom in
September 2, 2004 after
acquittal by the
Malaysian Federal Court.
He is currently
member of the Executive
Scientific Committee of
the Fondazione
Laboratorio Mediterraneo
(FLM) in Naples. The
major initiative
launched recently is
Mediterranean, Europe
and Islam: Actors in
Dialogue.
Anwar has
published two books
Menangani Perubahan
(Managing Change), (Berita
Publishing 1988) and The
Asian Renaissance, Times
Publications, Singapore,
1997 and more than a
dozen articled
including: “The Ardent
Moderates,” Time
magazine, August
1996;“Who Hijacked
Islam?” Time magazine,
October 2001;
“We Muslims Must
Reform Our Own
Politics” The Asian
Wall Street Journal
October 2003; “There
Is So Much to Do” Time
magazine, September
2004; and most recently
“The Quest for Social
Justice” Global
Agenda magazine (of the
World Economic Forum
Annual Meeting) January
2005.
He is married to
Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail
and the couple have six
children.
Anwar Ibrahim is a
Columnist for MaximsNews
Network.
Anwar Ibrahim is
available for Media
Interviews: AnwarIbrahim@MaximsNews.com
MaximsNews
Columns by ANWAR IBRAHIM
DEMOCRACY
IN THE MUSLIM WORLD AND
THE WHITE HOUSE
ISLAM
AND DEMOCRATIZATION: THE
WINDS OF CHANGE
BRIDGING
THE CHASM BETWEEN THE
WEST AND THE MUSLIM
WORLD
ON
MY RELEASE FROM PRISON
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