King Ghaz: A Man of His Time

Those who knew him closely called him "Ghaz" or "King Ghaz", a sobriquet after the stone axe wielding rugged cartoon character in Alley Oop once popular in The Straits Times. It was, no doubt, mock adulation but fitted him well because of the power and authority which Ghazali Shafie wielded in carrying out his work.

Bom in Kuala Lipis on 22 March 1922. Ghazali's education at Raffles College was interrupted by the War. While still working for the Japanese, he served as an intelligence officer for the anti-Japanese resistance movement that had its origins in his home state of Pahang.

After the War ended, Ghazali continued to work with the civil service until 1948 when he proceeded to read law in Wales. Upon his return, he rejoined the government and became a pioneer diplomat of the mould of great minds such as Henry Kissinger.

A thinker of uncommon ability, Ghazali went on from being a civil servant to a Cabinet Minister from September 1970. He continued to provide the government with intellectual leadership for the best part of his career. He ended his ministerial career in 1984 and spent the last years of his career and life in relative introspection. He continued. however, to remain in the public eye until he breathed his last on 24 January 2010.