Wan Azizah Wan Ismail

view: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wan_Azizah_Wan_Ismail

Yang Berbahagia Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (born 3 December 1952) is a Malaysian politician. She is currently the president of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (People's Justice Party) and she was the Member of Parliament for Permatang Pauh from 1999 to 2008. She was also the Leader of Opposition in Dewan Rakyat from March 2008 until 31 July 2008. She resigned her parliamentary seat for Permatang Pauh on 31 July 2008 to make way for her husband Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim who won the subsequent by-election on 26 August 2008.

Born in 1952, Wan Azizah received her early education in St. Nicholas Convent School, Alor Setar. She was to continue her education at Tunku Kurshiah College [1] in Seremban. She went on to study medicine at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland where she was awarded a gold medal in obstetrics and gynecology and she later graduated as a qualified ophthalmologist.

Dr. Wan Azizah served as a government doctor for 14 years before deciding to focus on volunteer work, when her husband, Anwar Ibrahim was appointed the Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia in 1993. As part of her voluntary pursuits, she became a patron of MAKNA (Majlis Kanser Nasionalor National Cancer Council) in that period ^[1][2] and became the second woman to lead a political party in Malaysia's history (Ganga Nayar founded and became the first president of the Malaysian Workers' Party in 1978 ^[3]).

Wan Azizah has said that she has a Peranakan (Straits Chinese) grandfather but identifies as a Malay Muslim.^[4] It is claimed that she also has Korean ancestry.^{[by whom?]}

Following the dismissal and arrest of her husband on 20 September 1998, Dr. Wan Azizah earned the respect and admiration of many Malaysians as the leader of the fledgling Reformasi movement. She first led the Social Justice Movement (ADIL), a civil rights NGO, before helping to establish theParti Keadilan Nasional on 4 April 1999. The establishment of the party saw Dr. Wan Azizah being elected as the first party president.^[5]

On 3 August 2003, she brought the party into a merger with the older Malaysian People's Party (or Parti Rakyat Malaysia) which saw the establishment of the People's Justice Party and was elected as the president of the newly merged party.