Tun Dato' Hussein bin Dato' Onn (12 February 1922 – 29 May 1990) was the third Prime Minister of Malaysia, serving in this role from 1976 to 1981. He was born in Johor Bahru, Johor, on 12 February 1922 to Dato Onn Jaafarand Datin Halimah Hussein, and is of 3/4 Malay and 1/4 Circassian ancestry. He was granted the soubriquet "Bapa Perpaduan" (Father of Unity).
Tun Hussein Onn was the son of Dato'Onn Jaafar, a Malayan freedom fighter.
Tun Hussein Onn married Tun Suhaila Noah in 1948.Tun Suhailah, widow of 3rd PM Tun Hussein Onn, dies at 82. Suhaila Noah was the daughter of Tan Sri Haji Mohamad Noah Omar. Hussein Onn and Suhaila Noah had six children.
Tun Hussein received his early education in Telok Kurau Primary School, Singapore and at the English College,Johore Bahru. After leaving school, he joined the Royal Johor Military Force as a cadet in 1940 and was sent a year later to the Indian Military Academy. Upon completion of his training, he was absorbed into the Indian Army and served in the Middle East when the Second World War broke.After the war, his vast experience prompted the British to employ him as an instructor at the Malayan Police Recruiting and Training Centre in Rawalpindi.
Tun Hussein came back to Malaysia in 1945 and was appointed Commandant of the Johor Bahru Police Depot. The following year he joined the Civil service in Malaysia
as an assistant administrative officer in Segamat,Johor.
Tun Hussein resigned from the civil service to go into politics. In 1949, he became the first youth chief of UMNO (United Malays National Organisation), a party his father helped established. In 1950, he was elected the UMNO secretary general. Tun Hussein however left UMNO in 1951 to join his father in forming the IMP(Independence of Malaya Party).
With IMP losing momentum, Tun Hussein went to London to study law at Lincoln's Inn. He came back as a certified lawyer and practised in Kuala Lumpur.
Tun Hussein returned to politics in 1968 after being persuaded by the then Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak to rejoin UMNO. He stood and won the general elections in 1969 and was appointed as the education minister. Tun Hussein's meteoric rise continued on 13 August 1973 when he succeeded the late Tun Dr Ismail as the Deputy Prime Minister. On 15 January 1976 he was appointed as Prime Minister of Malaysia after the death of Tun Razak.
Tun Hussein was renowned for stressing the issue of unity through policies aimed at rectifying economic imbalances between the various communities found in Malaysia. For instance, 20 April 1981 saw the National Unit Trust Scheme being launched. He also gave serious consideration to the concept of Rukun Tetangga and the fight against the drug menace.
He underwent a coronary bypass in early 1981. On 17 July the same year, he retired from active politics and relinquished his prime minister post due to health concerns. He was succeeded by Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad.
After his retirement as Prime Minister, he continued to contribute to welfare organisations. He was instrumental in the setting up of the Tun Hussein Onn Eye Hospital. He was also an advisor to Petronas the country's oil company and Chairman of Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS).
He died on 29 May 1990 in Seton Medical Center at San Francisco, California, at the age of 68. He is buried in Makam Pahlawan near Masjid Negara, Kuala Lumpur.
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