Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin ibni Almarhum Sultan Mahmud Al-Muktafi Billah Shah is the 17th and current Sultan of Terengganu. He served as the 13th Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the constitutional monarch of Malaysia, from 2006 to 2011. He is Malay by ethnicity and an adherent of Sunni Islam, both of which are prerequisites for Malaysian royalty.
He is the eldest son of Sultan Mahmud Al-Muktafi Billah Shah by his second wife, Sharifa Nong Fatima Alsaggof. Mizan became the youngest ruler of a Malaysian federal state when he was appointed as the Sultan of Terengganu on 15 May 1998 following the death of his father, Sultan Mahmud. Mizan was crowned as the 17th Sultan of Terengganu on 4 March 1999.
On 3 November 2006, Mizan was elected by the Conference of Rulers to become the 13th YDPA, with his five-year term starting 13 December 2006. The Conference of Rulers appointed Sultan Abdul Halim of Kedah as the Deputy YDPA. Mizan's appointment was the fourth following a second rotation system amongst the nine Malay Rulers. This five-year rotational constitutional monarchy is unique to Malaysia. |