Abdul Rahim Ishak (25 July 192518 January 2001), also known as Encik Rahim, was a Singaporean politician and journalist. The youngest brother of

Yusof bin Ishak Yusof bin Ishak (12 August 191023 November 1970) was a Singaporean politician and journalist who served as the first president of Singapore from 1965 until his death in 1970. Prior to becoming head of state, Yusof was a well-known journalis ...

, the first President of Singapore, Abdul was Minister of State for Education from 1965 to 1968 and the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs for 1968 to 1972. He was the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary first to the

United Arab Republic The United Arab Republic (UAR; ar, الجمهورية العربية المتحدة, al-Jumhūrīyah al-'Arabīyah al-Muttaḥidah) was a sovereign state in the Middle East from 1958 until 1971. It was initially a political union between Eg ...

in 1968, to

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

, and

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

in 1969, and to

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

from 1974 to 1978. He became an envoy to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

in July 1981.

Early life

Born 25 July 1925 in Singapore, Abdul received his education at King Edward VII School in

Perak Perak () is a state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, and Selangor to the south. Thailand's ...

and

Raffles College The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national public research university in Singapore. Founded in 1905 as the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States Government Medical School, NUS is the oldest autonomous university in the c ...

in Singapore, and was eligible to be a teacher. He worked as a news journalist for the ''Utusan Melayu'' from 1947 to 1959.

Career and personal life

Abdul served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary first to the

in 1968, to

, and

in 1969, and to

from 1974 to 1978. He became an envoy to

in July 1981, succeeding Lee Khoon Choy. He succeeded Chan Keng Howe as High Commissioner to New Zealand officially on 12 July 1981. His spouse Cik Mawan Wajid Khan was the president of the Siglap Women's Association. They had six children; they had at least one daughter, Lily Zubaidah Rahim.

Later life and death

Abdul retired from his political career in 1987 and was rarely seen in public. In December 2000, he was hospitalised for treatment. He died on 18 January 2001 from an unspecified illness. Many leaders in Asia offered their condolences.

References

{{Authority control 1925 births 2001 deaths People's Action Party politicians Members of the Dewan Rakyat Members of the Legislative Assembly of Singapore