Dato' Datuk (or its variant Dato or Datu) is a Malay title commonly used in Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia, as well as a traditional title by Minangkabau people in West Sumatra, Indonesia. The title of the wife of Datuk is Datin. Origin The oldes ...

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as p ...

Haji Mohamad Sheriff bin Osman,

KBE KBE may refer to: * Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, post-nominal letters * Knowledge-based engineering Knowledge-based engineering (KBE) is the application of knowledge-based systems technology to the domain o ...

(5 August 1890 - 27 September 1962) was the first Chief Minister of Kedah. Sheriff was the

Menteri Besar In Malaysia, the Menteri Besar ( Jawi:منتري بسر; literally ''First Minister''), colloquially referred to as MB, is the head of government of each of nine states in Malaysia with hereditary rulers. For four states without a monarch, the t ...

Kedah Kedah (), also known by its honorific Darul Aman (Islam), Aman and historically as Queda, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area ...

from 1948 until 1954. The Menteri Besar is appointed by the

Sultan of Kedah The Kedah Sultanate (كسلطانن قدح) is a Muslim dynasty located in the Malay Peninsula. It was originally an independent state, but became a British protectorate in 1909. Its monarchy was abolished after it was added to the Malayan Uni ...

among members of the State Legislative Assembly. As the Menteri Besar of Kedah, he was the head of the executive branch of the government in the Malaysian state of

Life and career

He was born in Alor Star and received his education in

Penang Free School , motto_translation = Strong and Faithful , streetaddress = Green Lane, , city = George Town , state = Penang , postcode = 11600 , country = Malaysi ...

. Prior to his appointment as Menteri Besar, he was appointed to key positions in the Kedah state government as follows: *1910-1912: Deputy State Secretary II *1912-1914: Director of Lands and Surveys, Kedah State *1915-1917: Deputy State Secretary I *1917-1932: Interpreter at the British Adviser's Office; State Civil Services Department Director *1932-1948: State Secretary of Kedah, retired at the age of 58 after a long period of service as a government servant.

Death

He died on 27 September 1962, aged 72 and was buried at the Al-Ghufran Muslim Cemetery in Alor Akar,

Alor Setar Alor Setar ( Jawi: الور ستار, Kedahan: ''Loqstaq'') is the state capital of Kedah, Malaysia. It is the second-largest city in the state after Sungai Petani and one of the most-important cities on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia ...

. 1890 births 1962 deaths Chief Ministers of Kedah Malaysian Muslims Malaysian people of Malay descent Kedah state executive councillors Honorary Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire {{Malaysia-politician-stub