Sultan Azlan Shah
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Sultan Azlan Muhibbuddin Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Yusuff Izzuddin Shah Ghafarullahu-Lah (born 1928 in Batu Gajah, Perak) was the ninth Yang di-Pertuan Agong (roughly equivalent to King) of Malaysia from April 26, 1989 to April 25, 1994, and Sultan of Perak.
A child of Sultan Yusuff Izzuddin Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Abdul Jalil Nasruddin Makhtaram Shah (reigned 1948-1963) by his commoner wife (later divorced) Toh Puan Dewangsa Khadijah binti Ahmad, the young Raja Azlan Shah was brought up by his mother outside royal circles.
Perhaps due to this unusual upbringing, Raja Azlan Shah, who was educated at the Malay College Kuala Kangsar (MCKK) grew up to be a very intelligent young man. As he had elder brothers who outranked him in the order of succession, he was trained for the legal service. Upon graduation from the University of Nottingham, Raja Azlan Shah became a magistrate. He rose to become the youngest high court judge in the Commonwealth, and later the youngest ever Lord President of the Supreme Court of Malaysia in 1983.
However, in that same year, by a strange twist of fate, Raja Azlan Shah was installed Raja Muda or Crown Prince of Perak by his uncle, Sultan Idris Almutawakkil Alallahi Shah II. The long reign of that Sultan had taken its toll on Raja Azlan Shah's elder brothers. In that year, his only surviving elder brother, Raja Baharom Shah, refused the office of Crown Prince and Raja Azlan Shah was suddenly heir presumptive.
Within six months, Sultan Idris was dead and Sultan Azlan Shah succeeded to the ancient Perak throne. His legal career over, he became a much respected Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia in 1989. He served the full five year term and returned as Sultan of Perak in 1994.
Sultan Azlan Shah married a commoner from Penang, former teacher Bainun binti Mohamad Ali, who served as the first ever commoner Raja Permaisuri Agong. The couple were the first monarchs of Malaysia to be installed on new gilded silver thrones, replacing the wooden ancient thrones used between 1957 to 1994.
| Preceded by: Sultan Iskandar (Sultan of Johor) | Yang di-Pertuan Agong (Sultan of Perak) | Succeeded by: Tuanku Jaafar (Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan) Template:End boxid:Sultan Azlan Shah ms:Sultan Azlan Muhibbuddin Shah ibni Almarhum Yussuf Izzuddin Shah |