Abdullah of Pahang

Tengku Abdullah was born on 30 July 1959 at Istana Mangga Tunggal, Pekan, Pahang. He is the first son of Paduka Ayahanda Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang and Tengku Ampuan Afzan. He is the fourth child among eight siblings. His eldest sibling is Tengku Meriam.[6][7]

Tengku Abdullah received his primary education at Sekolah Ahmad, Pekan, St. Thomas Primary School, and St. Thomas Secondary School, both located in Kuantan. He went to Aldenham School, Elstree Hertfordshire – Advance School from 1975 until 1978 and Davis College, London – Advance School from 1978 to 1979. He also attended The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst from 1979 to 1980 as well as Worcester College Oxford and Queen Elizabeth College, receiving a Diploma in International Relations and Diplomacy upon his graduation in 1981.[6]

On 15 January 2019, at the age of 59, Abdullah was proclaimed as the sixth Sultan of modern Pahang upon the abdication of his father due to ill health. The ceremony took place at Istana Abu Bakar, the official residence of the Sultan of Pahang. His reign was declared retroactively began on 11 January 2019, the day the Regency Council decided his succession.[3][8]

Upon his accession to throne of Pahang, Abdullah took the regnal title "Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah".[9] His royal consort, Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah Binti Almarhum Sultan Iskandar, the Tengku Puan (Crown Princess) of Pahang has been proclaimed as the Her Royal Highness Tengku Ampuan (Queen consort) of Pahang on 29 January 2019.[10]

On 24 January 2019 Thursday, the Conference of Rulers elected Sultan Abdullah as the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia to replace Sultan Muhammad V of Kelantan who abdicated weeks earlier.[4] Sultan Abdullah was sworn in as the 16th King of Malaysia on 31 January 2019 in a public ceremony as he officially took up the residency of the Istana Negara, Jalan Tuanku Abdul Halim.[11] The Conference of Rulers also elected Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah of Perak as the Deputy Yang di-Pertuan Agong.[4]

Regarding the regency of Pahang throughout Sultan Abdullah's tenure as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the duty of ruling the state was handed to Sultan Abdullah's son, Tengku Hassanal Ibrahim Alam Shah, who was proclaimed as the Tengku Mahkota and Regent of Pahang on 29 January 2019.[10]

On the date of appointment, Tengku Hassanal was still pursuing his studies at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, United Kingdom. He was assisted in carrying out his duties by the Majlis Jumaah Pangkuan Diraja Negeri Pahang ('Pahang Council of Regency') led by Sultan Abdullah's eldest younger brother who is also Tengku Hassanal's uncle, Tengku Abdul Rahman Ibni Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah, from 15 February 2019 until his graduation on 15 December 2019.[12]

Sultan Abdullah ceremonial installation as King took place at the Throne Hall of the Istana Negara on 30 July 2019, seven months after his assumption of the throne[13] on his 60th birthday.

The installation on 30 July 2019 has yet another historical significance because Sultan Abdullah and the Raja Permaisuri Agong, Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah, are the children of sultans who had been previously elected as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

He holds the rank of Marshal of the Royal Malaysian Air Force in his full constitutional duties as Commander-in-Chief of the Malaysian Armed Forces as well as the ranks of Field Marshal of the Malaysian Army and Admiral of the Fleet of the Royal Malaysian Navy, in addition, he is the current Colonel-in-chief of the Royal Malaysian Air Force, having taken over the duties since his assumption to the throne, previously he acted as his father's representative to RMAF events and ceremonies twice in his capacity as Regent.

He is also the chancellor of MARA University of Technology (UiTM) and National Defence University of Malaysia (UPNM) since 2019.[14][15]

On 25 October 2020, Sultan Abdullah of Pahang, in his capacity as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, rejected Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin's request for him to declare a state of emergency in response to a spike in COVID-19 cases throughout Malaysia.[16]

On 12 January 2021, King Abdullah declared a nationwide state of emergency that is expected to last until 1 August to address the ongoing spread of COVID-19 and a political crisis involving Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin's Perikatan Nasional government. Under this state of emergency, parliament and elections will be suspended while the Malaysian government will be empowered to introduce laws without approval.[17][18]

Tengku Abdullah began his military career at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, the United Kingdom in 1978 as Officer Cadet. There he met with his best friend, Sheikh Mohamed Zayed Al Nahyan, who later became the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Zulkiple Kassim, his senior and later became the Chief of Army.[19][20] He was commissioned as Second lieutenant by Queen Elizabeth II in 1979. In 1980, he was promoted to Captain and served as Cavalry officer in the Royal Armoured Corps.[21] In 1987, he was promoted to Major, the Royal Armoured Corps.[22]

In 1999, he was assigned to the Territorial Army Regiment (Malay: Rejimen Askar Wataniah) and in the same time was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and one year later, in 2000, he was promoted again to Colonel.[22]

Tengku Abdullah was then promoted to Brigadier general in 2004.[22]

He first married at the Sultan Abu Bakar State Mosque, Johor Bahru, 6 March 1986 to the third daughter of Sultan Iskandar of Johor with his first wife, Enche' Besar Kalsom binti Abdullah (née Josephine Ruby Trevorrow), Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah binti Almarhum Al-Mutawakkil Alallah Sultan Iskandar Al-Haj. She has been created Tengku Puan (title for Crown Princess) in addition to her Johor title of Paduka Puteri in 1986. She is one of the sisters of the current Sultan Ibrahim Ismail of Johor. They have four sons and two daughters together.

He married, secondly, in 1991 Julia Rais (born at Kota Bharu, Kelantan, (1971-02-19) 19 February 1971), a former actress and daughter of Abdul Rais, in a private ceremony at Fraser's Hill.[23] They have three daughters together.