Sultan of Terengganu Coronation Anniversary in Malaysia Date in the current year: March 4, 2024

Terengganu became an independent sultanate in 1724, with Tun Zainal Abidin (Zainal Abidin I) as its first sultan. Tun Zainal Abidin was the younger brother of a former sultan of Johor, and Terengganu politics was strongly influenced by Johor for decades. Terengganu became a vassal state of the Rattanakosin Kingdom of Thailand in the 19th century, and then a British protectorate in 1909.

During World War II, Japan occupied the state and transferred sovereignty over Terengganu back to Thailand. After the war, Terengganu joined the Federation of Malaya in 1948 and became its state after Malaya’s independence in 1957. During all this time the Sultan of Terengganu ruled the state on behalf of central authorities.

The Sultan of Terengganu is the constitutional head of the state who is vested with executive power. The title is hereditary: the incumbent Sultan, Mizan Zainal Abidin, came to power after the death of the previous sultan, Mahmud Al-Muktafi Billah Shah, who was his father.

Mizan Zainal Abidin was born on January 22, 1962. Having completed his primary education in Malaysia, he graduated from a co-ed grammar school in Australia, and then studied at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in England. In 1988, he graduated from a college in London with a bachelor’s degree in international relations.

After his return to Malaysia, Mizan worked at the State Economic Planning Unit and at the Kuala Terengganu District Land Office. Between 1991 and 1995, he served as the President of the state’s Council for Islam and Malay Culture, and from 2001 to 2006, he was the first Chancellor of the Universiti Malaysia Terengganu.

Mizan was officially proclaimed the crown prince (Yang di-Pertuan Muda) of Terengganu in November 1979. His father, Sultan Mahmud, died on May 14, 1998. The next day, the 36-year-old crown prince was appointed the Sultan of Terengganu, becoming the youngest ruler of a Malaysian federal state. His coronation was held on March 4, 1999. Its anniversary is now an official holiday in Terengganu.

In 1999, Mizan was appointed Timbalan Yang di-Pertuan Agong (Deputy Supreme Head of Malaysia). In 2001, the incumbent Yang di-Pertuan Agong died, and Mizan served as acting ruler of Malaysia for two months. When the Conference of Rulers elected the Raja of Perlis as the new Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Mizan was re-appointed Timbalan Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

In 2006, Mizan was elected the next Yang di-Pertuan Agong. He became the first supreme ruler of Malaysia to be born after the country’s independence on August 31, 1957. During his five-year rule, Mizan’s son Tengku Muhammad Ismail was appointed regent of Terengganu. Since he was only eight years old at the time of his appointment, the state was ruled by a Regency Advisory Council.