Razali Ismail

In this Malay name, there is no surname or family name. The name Ismail is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by their given name, Razali.

Razali bin Ismail (born 14 April 1939) is a Malaysian diplomat. He is formerly the Chairman of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) from 2016 to 2019. He was also the 51st President of the United Nations General Assembly from 1996 until 1997.

Yang Berbahagia Tan Sri Dato' Razali Ismail PSM DSDK
Razali in 2015
Chairman of Human Rights Commission of Malaysia
In office 21 June 2016 – 26 June 2019
Preceded by	Hasmy Agam
Succeeded by	Othman Hashim
President of the United Nations General Assembly
In office 17 September 1996 – 15 September 1997
Preceded by	Diogo Freitas do Amaral
Succeeded by	Hennadiy Udovenko
Malaysian Ambassador to Poland
In office 1978–1982
Monarch	Sultan Ahmad Shah
Preceded by	Position established
Malaysian High Commissioner to India
In office 23 May 1982 – 20 May 1985
Monarchs	Sultan Ahmad Shah Sultan Iskandar
Preceded by	Mon Jamaluddin
Succeeded by	Mohamed Haron
Personal details
Born	Razali bin Ismail (1939-04-14) 14 April 1939 Alor Setar, Kedah, Federated Malay States, British Malaya (now Malaysia)
Citizenship	Malaysian
Education	Sultan Abdul Hamid College Malay College Kuala Kangsar
Alma mater	University of Malaya (BA)
Occupation	Diplomat

Early life and education

He received his education at the Sultan Abdul Hamid College and completed his studies in 1956. Then he continued his education at the Malay College Kuala Kangsar (MCKK) for 2 years. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with Honors in literature and the humanities from Universiti Malaya and an Honorary Doctorate from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

Career and post

Razali Ismail first joined the Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1962 and went on to become the Ministry's Deputy Secretary-General in 1985. Before he was appointed to the post, he served as the Malaysia's Assistant High Commissioner in Madras from 1963 to 1964, Second Secretary of Malaysia's Embassy in Paris in between 1966 and 1968, the Counsellor in the Malaysian High Commission in London from 1970 until 1972 and the Chargé d'affaires in Vientiane from 1974 until 1976. He was later the Malaysian Ambassador to Poland from 1978 to 1982 and to India between 1982 and 1985.

After his tenure as Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Deputy Secretary-General, he became increasingly involved with the United Nations. In 1989 and 1990, he headed the Malaysian delegation to the United Nations. At the same time, he was the chairman of United Nations Security Council. From 1996 to 1997, he became the President of the United Nations General Assembly.

In the past, he usually headed Malaysian diplomatic delegation to various regional and international bodies such as ASEAN and the Non-Aligned Movement. Until a few years ago, he had been Malaysia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations.

Up until 2005, he was United Nations Secretary-General's Special Envoy to Myanmar and played a pivotal role in releasing Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest in May 2002. However, his impartiality as a UN Special Envoy was questioned by American officials in an embassy cable that was released via Wikileaks, alleging his business ties with the Burmese military regime. Later however, Myanmar military junta repeatedly denied him entry to Myanmar, contributing to his decision to quit the special envoy status in December 2005.

Honours

Honours of Malaysia

• Malaysia :
  • Commander of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia (PSM) – Tan Sri (1991)
• Kedah :
  • Knight Companion of the Order of Loyalty to the Royal House of Kedah (DSDK) – Dato' (1985)

Honorary degrees

• Malaysia:
  • Honorary Doctorate degree from National University of Malaysia

External links

• https://www.un.org/ga/55/president/bio51.htm