Rais was born to a Minangkabau family. A lawyer by profession, he graduated from Language Institute, Kuala Lumpur in 1964. In 1968, he taught Bahasa Malaysia to the American Peace Corps in the United States. He obtained his honours degree from National University of Singapore. In 1994, he obtained a PhD from King's College London. His doctoral dissertation was eventually published in 1995 as Freedom Under Executive Power in Malaysia: A Study of Executive Supremacy.
Career
Rais has held various positions in the national cabinet and other state government positions. He had been appointed a Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Menteri Besar of Negeri Sembilan, Minister of Land and Regional Development, Minister of Information and Foreign Minister. When he fell out of favour of the UMNO leadership in April 1987, he resumed his law career. He worked with a firm, Ram, Rais & Partner, from 1987 to 1999. During the 1990s he became the deputy leader of the oppositionSemangat 46, a breakaway party led by UMNO members dissatisfied with Mahathir Mohamad's leadership. Like most Semangat 46 leaders, he rejoined UMNO by the end of the decade. Upon his return to the ministry in 1999, as Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, he was effusive in his praise for Mahathir, who had outlasted the Semangat 46 movement with successive election victories. He held the ministry until the 2004 election, after which Abdullah Badawi, who had replaced Mahathir on his retirement, appointed him as Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage. In June 2007, Rais was nominated as a candidate for the post of the next Commonwealth Secretary-General after Don McKinnon's term in office ended in March 2008. However, he pulled out on 26 July, citing the lateness of campaigning, and his duties and commitments as the Main Committee of the upcoming 50th Merdeka celebrations, which limited him from travelling out of the country to lobby for his candidacy. Rais served another term as Foreign Minister from 18 March 2008 until 9 April 2009, when the incoming Prime Minister Najib Razak appointed him as the Minister for Information, Communications and Culture. He remained in that ministry until the 2013 election, when he was dropped as a parliamentary candidate. Speaking generally about Barisan Nasional's decision to drop a number of senior figures from its parliamentary lineup, Najib stated that it was to "satisfy the demands of voters who want to see Barisan Nasional and UMNO change and reform". Rais accepted the decision and called on fellow UMNO members to remain loyal to the party. Within a few months he was appointed as the President of the International Islamic University of Malaysia. On 16 June 2020, he was appointed as a senator in the Dewan Negara by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
Personal life
He is married to Masnah Rais and has four children. His hobbies are photography and travelling. He is also a writer on the subjects of law, politics, and Malay society.
