Anwar Ibrahim was born in 1947 in Penang, Malaysia. He completed his education in Penang and went to Kuala Lumpur to pursue his Bachelor studies. He studied Malay Studies at Malaya University and actively participated in politics. Mr. Ibrahim’s activism continued with his founding membership and presidency of the Malaysia Islamic Youth Movement. In 1974 he was arrested for participating in a student protest and was sentenced to two years. Following this, Ibrahim served as a representative for Asia Pacific of World Assembly of Muslim Youth in 1974-1982 and despite the difficulties he faced, he never gave up. In 1981, Anwar Ibrahim became the co-founder of the International Institute of Islamic Thought based in the United States. In 1981-1988 he acted as the chancellor of the International Islamic University. After these duties, Mr. Ibrahim returned to his country and began to play an active and important role in politics. He was the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports in 1983, Minister of Agriculture in 1984 and Minister of Education from 1986-1991. Ibrahim, who also served as the Finance Minister, became Vice President in 1993. Furthermore, in 1997, he served as Prime Minister for two months. Despite these important duties, he has had a hard time in Malaysian politics; nevertheless, he has always received great support from the Malaysian people. In 2003, Ibrahim founded the People’s Justice Party to bring a new line to Malaysian politics. However, Mr. Ibrahim was arrested and sentenced to nine years’ imprisonment. Nonetheless, in 2004, the Malaysian Constitutional Court removed this sentence for lack of evidence. Soon after that, Ibrahim worked as a guest lecturer at the John Hopkins and George Town Universities in 2004 and 2006. In 2008, he returned to his country and established the People’s Pact and continued with his political struggle. Anwar Ibrahim who succeeded in the 2008 elections, was repressed by the Malaysian government and accused of unfounded allegations. During this life-threatening process, Ibrahim found refuge in the Turkish embassy. Before 2014 elections, he was sentenced to five years in prison to be later released on April 16, 2018. Anwar Ibrahim, considered among the 100 most influential names in the world by the TIME magazine, is expected to serve as Prime Minister in Malaysia.

Accompanied by the opening speech of SETA General Coordinator, Prof. Dr. Burhanettin Duran, H.E Anwar Ibrahim will speak on the future of the Islamic World and the democratic transformation in Malaysia.

Note: Panel language will be in Turkish and English and translation will be performed simultaneously.