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{{Short description|Malaysian politician and sports administrator (1923–2006)}}
{{More citations needed|date=June 2023}}{{EngvarB|date=October 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2014}}
{{Malay name|Mohamed Khir|Johari| note = on}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix    = [[Malay styles and titles#Yang Berbahagia|Yang Berbahagia]] [[Malay styles and titles#Tan Sri|Tan Sri]]
| name                = Mohamed Khir Johari
| honorific-suffix    = {{post-nominals|country=MYS|size=100%|PMN|DPMS|DHMS|BCK}}
| image               = Khir Johari.jpg
| image size          = 
| office1             = [[Minister of Education (Malaysia)|Minister of Education]]
| term_start1         = 1965
| term_end1           = 1969
| deputy1             = 
| monarch1            = 
| primeminister1      = 
| constituency1       = [[Kedah Tengah (federal constituency)|Kedah Tengah]]
| predecessor1        = [[Abdul Rahman Talib]]
| successor1          = [[Abdul Rahman Ya'kub]]
| term_start2         = 1957
| term_end2           = 1960
| deputy2             = 
| monarch2            = 
| primeminister2      = 
| constituency2       = [[Kedah Tengah (federal constituency)|Kedah Tengah]]
| predecessor2        = [[Abdul Razak Hussein]]
| successor2          = Abdul Rahman Talib
| office3             = [[Minister of Agriculture and Food Industries (Malaysia)|Minister of Agriculture and Co-operatives]]
| term_start3         = 1963
| term_end3           = 1965
| deputy3             = 
| monarch3            = 
| primeminister3      = 
| constituency3       = [[Kedah Tengah (federal constituency)|Kedah Tengah]]
| predecessor3        = [[Abdul Aziz Ishak]]
| successor3          = Mohamed Ghazali Jawi
| office4             = [[Minister of International Trade and Industry (Malaysia)|Minister of Commerce and Industry]]
| term_start4         = 18 November 1959
| term_end4           = 9 October 1962
| deputy4             = 
| monarch4            = 
| primeminister4      = 
| constituency4       = [[Kedah Tengah (federal constituency)|Kedah Tengah]]
| predecessor4        = [[Ismail Abdul Rahman]]
| successor4          = [[Lim Swee Aun]]
| office5             = [[List of ambassadors of Malaysia to the United States|Ambassador of Malaysia to the United States of America]]
| term_start5         = February 1972
| term_end5           = March 1976
| deputy5             = 
| monarch5            = 
| primeminister5      = 
| constituency5       = 
| predecessor5        = [[Omar Yoke Lin Ong]]
| successor5          = Zain Azraai Zainal Abidin
| office6             = [[List of current permanent representatives to the United Nations|Permanent Representative of Malaysia to the United Nations]]
| term_start6         = 1975
| term_end6           = 1976
| deputy56            = 
| monarch56           = 
| primeminister6      = 
| constituency6       = 
| predecessor6        = [[Sardon Jubir]]
| successor6          = Zaiton Ibrahim
| constituency_MP7    = [[Kuala Muda (federal constituency)|Kuala Muda]]
| parliament7         = Malaysian
| office7             = 
| term_start7         = 4 November 1974
| term_end7           = 29 March 1982
| predecessor7        = ''Constituency established''
| successor7          = [[Daim Zainuddin]] ([[United Malay National Organisation|UMNO]]—[[Barisan Nasional|BN]])
| majority7           = 9,518 ([[1978 Malaysian general election|1978]]) <br /> ''Unopposed'' ([[1974 Malaysian general election|1974]])
| constituency7       = 
| constituency_MP8    = [[Kedah Tengah (federal constituency)|Kedah Tengah]]<br />{{small|(Parliament suspended 13 May 1969 – 20 February 1971)}}
| parliament8         = Malaysian
| office8             = 
| term_start8         = 27 July 1955
| term_end8           = 31 July 1974
| predecessor8        = ''Constituency established''
| successor8          = ''Constituency abolished''
| majority8           = 2,375 ([[1969 Malaysian general election|1969]]) <br /> 10,680 ([[1964 Malaysian general election|1964]]) <br /> 6,836 ([[1959 Malayan general election|1959]]) <br /> 29,646 ([[1955 Malayan general election|1955]])
| constituency8       = 
| birth_name          = Mohamed Khir bin Johari
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1923|01|29|df=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Alor Setar]], [[Kedah]], [[Unfederated Malay States]], [[British Malaya]] (now Malaysia)
| residence           = 
| death_date          = {{Death date and age|2006|11|19|1923|01|29|df=yes}}
| death_place         = [[Kuala Lumpur]], Malaysia
| resting_place       = [[Makam Pahlawan]], [[National Mosque of Malaysia|Masjid Negara]], Kuala Lumpur
| party               = [[United Malays National Organisation]] (UMNO)
| otherparty          = [[Barisan Nasional]] (BN)
| spouse              = {{plainlist| 
*Kalsom Abdul Rahman 
*Christine Lim
}}
| children            = [[Zairil Khir Johari]] (son)
| education           = [[Kolej Sultan Abdul Hamid|Sultan Abdul Hamid College]]
| occupation          = [[Politician]], [[diplomat]]
| footnotes           = 
| native_name         = {{lang|ms|{{Script|Arab|محمد خير جوهري}}}}
}}

'''Mohamed Khir bin Johari''' ({{langx|ms-Arab|محمد خير بن جوهري|label=[[Jawi alphabet|Jawi]]}}; 29 January 1923 – 19 November 2006)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.arkib.gov.my/en/web/guest/tan-sri-dato-mohd-khir-johari1|title=Tan Sri Dato' Mohamed Khir Johari|publisher=[[National Archives of Malaysia]]|access-date=2018-10-02}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.arkib.gov.my/web/guest/tan-sri-dato-mohd-khir-johari1|title=Tan Sri Dato' Mohamed Khir Johari|publisher=[[National Archives of Malaysia]]|access-date=2018-10-02}} {{in lang|ms}}</ref> was a [[Malaysia]]n politician and the former [[Minister of Education (Malaysia)|Malaysian Minister of Education]].

Born on 29 January 1923, in [[Alor Setar]], Khir received formal education in the prestigious [[Sultan Abdul Hamid College]] (KSAH) in Kedah. Khir was a Member of Parliament from 1955 to 1982. He was involved in the Malaysian political scene from its inception and served in the [[Cabinet of Malaysia|Cabinet]] of [[Tunku Abdul Rahman]] and [[Tun Abdul Razak]].

Upon his retirement he held positions in several organisations, most famously as President of the [[World Wide Fund for Nature]] of Malaysia (WWF).

Khir died of heart failure at 83 on 19 November 2006. He was accorded a state funeral and was buried in [[Makam Pahlawan]] near [[National Mosque of Malaysia|Masjid Negara]], [[Kuala Lumpur]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/11/20/nation/16077484&sec=nation|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120124185617/http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=%2F2006%2F11%2F20%2Fnation%2F16077484&sec=nation|url-status=dead|archive-date=24 January 2012|title=Khir accorded state funeral|author=SYED AZHAR AND IZATUN SHARI|date=20 November 2006|work=[[The Star (Malaysia)|The Star]]|access-date=2 October 2018}}</ref>

==Early life and education==
[[File:Mahathir Mohamad in 1946.jpg|thumb|The Literary and Debating Society of Sultan Abdul Hamid College in 1940. Seated from left: Ahmad Nordin, Khir Johari, Tiddemand, [[Mahathir Mohamad]], Zulkifli Hashim.]]
Mohamed Khir was born on 29 January 1923, in [[Alor Setar]], [[Kedah]]. He received formal education in the [[Sultan Abdul Hamid College]] (KSAH) in Kedah. His desire to continue studying at Medical College, Raffles College in Singapore in 1940 was thwarted when the Second World War (PDII) broke out.

==Early career==

After the war, Khir Johari returned to his alma mater [[Sultan Abdul Hamid College]] as a teacher, where he taught English. During this time, he was politically active through his involvement with the Malay nationalist organisation SABERKAS (Sayang Akan Bangsa Ertinya Redha Korban Apa Segala).

After [[Tunku Abdul Rahman]] took over from [[Onn Jaafar|Dato' Sir Onn Jaafar]] as president of [[UMNO]], Khir was appointed as Secretary-General of [[UMNO]] and was tasked to oversee the first [[1955 Malayan general election|federal election in Malaya]] in 1955. After winning the constituency of Kedah Tengah, Khir was appointed into the Cabinet as Assistant Minister of Agriculture.

==Government Service==

Upon [[Independence Day (Malaysia)|Independence]], Khir was appointed into the first Cabinet of independent [[Peninsular Malaysia|Malaya]] as the Minister of Education. He held on to this post until 1960, when he was transferred to the Ministry of Trade and Commerce.

In 1964, Khir was made Minister of Agriculture, replacing Abdul Aziz Ishak, who had been relieved of his position and later detained under the Internal Security Act.

In 1966, Khir returned to helm the Ministry of Education until 1969. Following the [[13 May Incident|13 May riots]], Khir was appointed Minister of Trade and Industry as key Tunku allies were sidelined. This allowed the government to implement Malay nationalist policies in education, including the abolishment of English-medium education at primary, secondary and tertiary levels.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://penangmonthly.com/article.aspx?pageid=2736&name=education_ever_the_political_victim |title=Penang Monthly - Education – Ever the political victim |website=penangmonthly.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180307215844/http://penangmonthly.com/article.aspx?pageid=2736&name=education_ever_the_political_victim |archive-date=2018-03-07}}</ref>

In February 1973, Khir was appointed the Malaysian Ambassador to the [[United States of America]], and later concurrently the Permanent Representative to the [[United Nations]]. He served as a diplomat until 1976.

In 1978, Khir contested his last general election, and retired from active politics at the end of the term in 1982.

==Civil Society==

During and after his career in politics, Khir Johari was active in various civil society organisations, including as president of the Malaysian Institute of Directors, president of the [[World Wide Fund for Nature|World Wide Fund for Nature of Malaysia]] (WWF), president of the Malaysian Zoological Society, president of the Royal Commonwealth Society and president of the [[Royal Selangor Club]] among others.

Khir was also the Charter President of [[Kiwanis]] Club of Kuala Lumpur and was later awarded the title of 'Bapa Kiwanis'.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kiwanis.org.my/ |title=Home |website=kiwanis.org.my}}</ref> He was also the founding chairman of the Malaysian Toray Science Foundation, as well as the Tunku Abdul Rahman Foundation.

Khir took an active interest in sports, serving as deputy president of the Olympic Council of Malaysia from 1982 to 2002. He was also famously the president of the [[Badminton Association of Malaysia]] from 1961 to 1985, during which the Malaysian team managed to win the prestigious [[Thomas Cup]] in 1967.

Khir was also the founding president of the Sepak Takraw Association of Malaysia, president of the Malaysian Body Building Federation and president of the Lawn Tennis Association of Malaysia.

==Awards and honours==
{{unreferenced section|date=February 2025}}
In appreciation of his services and contributions, Khir was awarded an honorary Doctorate in Law by the [[University of Malaya]] in 1968, an honorary Doctorate in Education and Science by the [[De La Salle University|De La Salle College]], Manila in 1967, the Senatorship by the [[Junior Chamber International]] in 1967, the 'Langkawi Award' – the highest tribute for an individual Malaysian for outstanding contributions in the field of environment in 1995 and the 'WWF Member of Honour' award by the World President of the WWF for outstanding service to the environment in 1999.

He was also the recipient of the Tokoh Sukan Award in 1998, International Olympic Council Merit Award in 1998 for the development of sports, the President's Award by the Malaysia American Society in 1999, the PATA Roll of Honor in 2001, the OCM Hall of Fame in 2002, the Paul Harris Fellow by the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International, the Tablet of Honor by the Kiwanis International Foundation in 2003, the United Nations Malaysia Award in 2004, and the first recipient of the Golden Years Award by the AUTORR Foundation in 2005.

He was bestowed the award of the Panglima Mangku Negara (P.M.N.) which carries the title of Tan Sri, the Seri Paduka Seri Setia Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah (D.H.M.S.) which carries the title of Dato' Paduka and the Dato' Paduka Mahkota Selangor (D.P.M.S.) in 1992.

==Honours==
===Honours of Malaysia===
* {{Flag|Malaysia}} :
** [[File:MY Pingat Peringatan Malaysia (Malaysian Commemorative Medal) ribbon.svg|50px]] Recipient of the [[Orders, decorations, and medals of Malaysia#Honorary orders and medals|Malaysian Commemorative Medal (Gold)]] (PPM) (1965)<ref name="IST">{{cite web |title=SEMAKAN PENERIMA DARJAH KEBESARAN, BINTANG DAN PINGAT |url=https://www.istiadat.gov.my/index.php/component/semakanlantikanskp/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180929181530/https://www.istiadat.gov.my/index.php/component/semakanlantikanskp/ |archive-date=29 September 2018 |access-date=14 September 2021 |publisher=[[Prime Minister's Department (Malaysia)]]}}</ref>
** [[File:MY Darjah Yang Mulia Pangkuan Negara (Defender of the Realm)- PMN.svg|50px]] Commander of the [[Order of the Defender of the Realm#Commander|Order of the Defender of the Realm]] (PMN) – '''Tan Sri''' (1986)<ref name=IST />
* {{Flag|Selangor}} :
** [[File:MY-SEL Order of the Crown of Selangor - Knight Commander - DPMS.svg|50px]] Knight Commander of the [[Order of the Crown of Selangor]] (DPMS) – '''Dato'''' (1992)<ref>{{cite web|title=DPMS 1992|url=https://awards.selangor.gov.my/sublinkyear.php?cat=27&subcat=D.P.M.S.|website=awards.selangor.gov.my|access-date=26 March 2022}}</ref>
* {{Flag|Kedah}} :
** [[File:MY-KED Order of Loyalty to Sultan Abdul Halim Muazzam Shah - Knight Commander (DHMS).svg|50px]] Knight Commander of the [[Order of Loyalty to Sultan Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah]] (DHMS) – '''Dato' Paduka''' (1997)<ref name=IST />
** [[File:MY-KED State of Kedah Distinguished Service Star or Medal (BCK - PCK).svg|50px]] State of Kedah Distinguished Service Star (BCK) (1959)<ref>{{cite news|url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/beritaharian19590220-1.2.56|title=33 ORANG DI-HORMATI OLEH SULTAN KEDAH|work=[[Berita Harian]]|date=20 February 1959|pages=5}}</ref>

=== Foreign honours ===
* {{Flag|Cambodia}} :
** [[File:KHM Royal Order of Sahametrei - Grand Officer.png|50px]] Grand Officer of the [[Royal Order of Sahametrei]] (1962)<ref>{{Cite news|date=1962-12-26|title=Prince Sihanouk confers Orders on 17 Malayans|url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitsbudget19621226-1.2.105|work=Straits Budget}}</ref>
* {{Flag|Japan}} :
**[[File:JPN Kyokujitsu-sho 2Class BAR.svg|50px]] Gold and Silver Star of the [[Order of the Rising Sun]] (1964)<ref>{{cite news|url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/beritaharian19640619-1.2.54|title=SERI PADUKA, MAHA RAJA JEPUN SALING BERTUKAR ANUGERAH|work=[[Berita Harian]]|date=19 June 1964|pages=5}}</ref>

==Places named after him==
* Sekolah Kebangsaan Khir Johari, national primary schools in Sungai Petani, Kedah and in Perai, Penang
* Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Khir Johari, a national secondary school in Sungai Petani, Kedah

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110226001633/http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=%2F2006%2F11%2F20%2Fnation%2F16077044&sec=nation Obituary]
* [http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/8/15/nation/18595144&sec=nation Man of the hour] The Star, 15 August 2007.

{{First Rahman cabinet}}
{{Second Rahman cabinet}}
{{Third Rahman cabinet}}
{{First Razak cabinet}}
{{Commander of the Order of the Defender of the Realm}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Khir Johari}}
[[Category:1923 births]]
[[Category:2006 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Kedah]]
[[Category:Malaysian people of Malay descent]]
[[Category:Malaysian Muslims]]
[[Category:United Malays National Organisation politicians]]
[[Category:Government ministers of Malaysia]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of Malaysia to the United States]]
[[Category:Permanent representatives of Malaysia to the United Nations]]
[[Category:Malaysian expatriates in the United States]]
[[Category:Commanders of the Order of the Defender of the Realm]]
[[Category:Agriculture ministers of Malaysia]]
[[Category:Ministers of education of Malaysia]]
[[Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the Crown of Selangor]]
[[Category:Malaysian MPs 1959–1964]]
[[Category:Malaysian MPs 1964–1969]]
[[Category:Malaysian MPs 1971–1974]]
[[Category:Malaysian MPs 1974–1978]]
[[Category:Malaysian MPs 1978–1982]]