In 1947, upon completion of his secondary education Tun Dr Mahathir received a scholarship from the Government to study medicine at the King Edward VII Medical College in Singapore, the forerunner of the University of Malaya . He was one of a handful of Malay students at the college along gith Siti Hasmah Binti Mohd Ali (now Tun0Dr Siti Hasmah Binti Mohd Ali) whom he later married in 1956. In college, Tun Dr Mahathir proved to be a conscientious student and was always concerned about the welfare of others. His participation in sports was primarily confined to playing rugby. Tun Dr Mahathir received his MBBS degree fro} the Unyvursidy of Malaya in 1953 and immediately began his housemanship at the Penang General Hospital which he completed the following year. Tun Dr Mahathir then served the government as a Medical Officer in Alor Setar, Langkawi and Perlis. In June 1957, Tun Dr Mahathir left the government's service to enter private practice. In the same year, with the cooperation and assistance of his wife, he opened MAHA Clinic in Jalan Tunku Ibrahim, Alor Setar, the first Malay private clinic in the state. MAHA Clinic, apart from providing private medical services, became a platform for his community and political services. The clinic was popular among the local populace and he was widely known as Doctor UMNO.

Tun Dr Mahathir's involvement in politics can be traced to 1945 when he joined various organisations including the Kesatuan Melayu Kedah, Seberkas and Kesatuan Pemuda Melayu Kedah. He was active in the anti-Malayan Union campaign (1945-1946) whilst still at school. His unswerving conviction and concerns about Malay economic and political predicaments were often expressed in a series of articles submitted to the Sunday Times under the pseudonym of C.H.E. Det between 1946-1950. Writing is one of Tun Dr Mahathir's passions. In school, he was the editor of Darulaman, the magazine published by the Medical College. In later years his enthusiasm for putting ideas and concerns on paper resulted in multifarious publications in addition to the debatable Malay Dilemma published in 1970. Besides writing, Tun Dr Mahathir is also an avid reader who firmly believed that learning is a lifelong process. He has maintained the penchant for reading, acquired from his childhood days, to grasp and understand current issues and developments. The heavy demands of his professional and political commitments did not deter him from pursuing carpentry as a hobby. His interest in carpentry has never waned and he is known to be highly creative in this field. He even attended a short soerce o~ cabpentry in Great Britain to further develop his skills. His lasting interest in carpentry earned him the Honorary Freedom of the Worshipful Company of Carpenters by the British Carpenters Society in 1989.

Tun Dr Mahathir became a member of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) in 1946, the year the party was formed. It was 18 years later that he came into the public eyes when, in the 1964 General Election, contested and won the Kota Setar Selatan constituency and became a Member of Parliament. He served as a Member of Parliament for five years during which he raised pertinent issues that concerned the rights of the Malays and their economic development. The period 1969-1972 saw Tun Dr Mahathir in a political abeyance. His defeat in the 1969 General Elections and disagreements with UMNO's leadership ended in his expulsion from the party. Tun Dr Mahathir's steadfastness in the face of challenges halted his political career only temporarily. A number of prominent figures in UMNO took the initiative to bring him back into the party. He was readmitted in 1972 and appointed a Senator in the same year. In 1973, as Chairman of Food Industries of Malaysia (FIMA) Tun Dr Mahathir took the opportunity to demonstrate his management capabilities and in the following year was appointed Minister of Education in Prime Minister Tun Razak's action-oriented cabinet. It was an appropriate appointment since education is a subject intimately close to his heart. Tun Dr Mahathir is convinced that education is of paramount importance to change the mindset of the people and a principal means for the Malays to improve their standard of living and economic position. Changes were made to the education system in order to increase the opportunities and the number of Bumiputera students to further their studies in local and foreign institutions of higher learning. In March 1976, after the death of Tun Razak, Tun Dr Mahathir was named Deputy Prime Minister by Prime Minister Tun Hussein Onn. Upon the resignation of the latter, Tun Dr Mahathir on July 16, 1981, became the fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia, a position he held for 22 years, until he retired on 31 October 2003.

Tun Dr Mahathir traveled extensively to many countries in the world on both official and private capacities as Prime Minister. During these trips he presented many papers and gave numerous talks and addresses. He is a sought after speaker and has delivered speeches at numerous conferences, summits, and meetings. A selection of gatherings attended between 1996 and 2003 include the World Teleport Association Assembly, Japan (1996); International Conference on the "Future of Asia", Nihon Keizai Shimbin Inc., Japan (1996); the San Francisco Dialogue, USA (1996); the Pacific Basin Economic Council (PBEC) 29th International General Meeting, Washington D.C, USA (1996); World Solar Summit, Zimbabwe (1996); Summit Meeting of the Group of 15 Heads of Government, Harare, Zimbabwe (1996); CHOGM, Edinburgh, Scotland (1997); Fifth Annual Summit of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum, Vancouver (1997); Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) Summit, Teheran (1997); 10th Meeting of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Bangkok (2000); South Summit of the Group of 77 (G77), Havana, Cuba (2000); Malaysia-British Partnership for the 21st Century Conference, Britain (2000); "Malaysia in the New Millennium" Conference, Cambridge University Malaysia Society, Britain (2000); Ninth OIC Leaders' Summit, Doha, Qatar (2000); APEC Leaders Summit, Brunei (2000); Ninth APEC Leaders' Meeting, Shanghai, China (2001); World Economic Forum, USA (2002); 4th Asia-Europe Meeting, Copenhagen, Denmark (2002); Paris II Conference in Support of Lebanon, France (2002); and the 58th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) (2003); his last address at the assembly before retirement.

As a professional medical practitioner and his on-going support for the medical profession, numerous fellowships and awards relating to the discipline were conferred on him. These include, among others, Honorary Member, Academy of Medicine (1983); Honorary Member, Malaysian Medical Association (1984); Honorary Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons , Ireland (1991); Honorary Fellowship, Academy of Sciences Malaysia (1996); and Honorary Fellowship, Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (1997).

Academic positions, awards, and honours received by Tun Dr Mahathir for his significant contribution to the development of knowledge includes Honorary Professor, Kyrgyz University (1996), Honorary Doctorate in Humanities, National University of Mongolia (1997), and an Honorary Doctorate of Literature, Al-Azhar University (1998). In recognition of his dedication and commitment to the promotion of human resource development in Malaysia through educational and technological exchange with global perspective, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Meiji University, one of the most prestigious universities in Japan in 2001. The Honorary Fellowship Award conferred by the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Great Britain in 1998 was made in recognition of Dr Mahathir's contribution to market Malaysia worldwide. After his retirement, he continued to receive various honours from universities including an Honorary Doctorate in the field of management and engineering from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (2003), and an honorary degree of the Doctor of Letters, Universiti Islam Antarabangsa (2003), the latter for his distinguished contributions as a Muslim writer and intellectual.

Numerous awards and honours were bestowed upon Tun Dr Mahathir by the various state governments culminating with Malaysia's highest award the Seri Maharaja Mangku Negara (SMN) which carries the title 'Tun' on 31 October 2003, his last day as Prime Minister. Foreign awards and honors received by Tun Dr Mahathir include those from Thailand, South Korea, Pakistan, Mali, Venezuela, Chile, Argentina, Mexico, Japan, Sweden, Bosnia, India, Uruguay, Kuwait, Bahrain, Lebanon, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Cuba, Djibouti, Poland, and Russia. His outstanding contribution to building closer cooperation among developing countries and for his bold and vigorous articulation of their concerns earned him the Jawaharlal Nehru Award by the Government of India in 1996. Tun Dr Mahathir's growing crusade in the development of Muslim countries earned him the prestigious Saudi Arabia's King Faisal International Prize (1997) for his service to Islam. The Atsumi Award which he received in 1998 given by the International Federation of Asian and Western Pacific Contractors Association is the most befitting for a man well-known for his exemplary leadership and visionary qualities and who has successfully steered Malaysia's course through the threshold of the 21st century as a country to be respected and emulated.