|  The
Hon. Datuk Seri Panglima Joseph Pairin Kitingan was born on
17 August 1940 in Papar, Sabah. Datuk Pairin is married to
Datin Genevieve Lee Chau Ha, a former teacher. They have two
sons, Alexander and Daniel, who are both trained lawyers.
Datuk
Pairin is the founder and President of the Sabah United Party
(Parti Bersatu Sabah). Trained as a lawyer at the University
of Adelaide, Australia, he worked as State Counsel with the
Sabah Legal Department and subsequently as Deputy Public Prosecutor
(DPP). Prior to joining politics, he also practised law with
a local legal firm.
Datuk
Pairin joined active politics in 1975 and was elected as Member
of the Sabah Legislative Assembly for the Tambunan constituency
in 1976 under BERJAYA party's ticket. He has served as Assemblyman
for Tambunan since 1976 and Member of Parliament for the constituency
of Keningau since 1986.
Datuk
Pairin formed Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) in March 1985 and
led the party to victory in the Sabah general election of
April 1985. He held the post of Sabah Chief Minister from
April 1985 to March 1994, during which he spearheaded his
party's triumphant outings in four successive State elections
(1985, 1986, 1990 and 1994). His nine-year term as Chief Minister
ended abruptly on 17 March 1994 when 26 of his Assemblymen
leapfrogged to the National Front (Barisan Nasional), thereby
forcing PBS to lose its majority in the Legislative Assembly.
Political
writings on Datuk Pairin have described him variously as "fearless,
principled, sincere, humble and resilient". These traits
have formed the distinguishing attributes of his inspiring
and extremely popular leadership.
Datuk
Seri Panglima Joseph Pairin Kitingan is also paramount leader
(Huguan Siou) of the Kadazandusun community of Sabah,
a grouping of some 40-odd sub-ethnic groups which form the
largest indigenous component of the Sabah population. He is
also President of the Kadazandusun Cultural Association (KDCA),
the community's principal cultural association.
In
March 2004, Datuk Pairin was appointed as the Deputy Chief
Minister and Minister of Rural Development. |
