About A. Ahmad Badawi Tun Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad Badawi (Jawi: عبد الله بن حجي احمد بدوي, born 26 November 1939) is a Malaysian politician who served as Prime Minister from 2003 to 2009. He was also the President of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), the largest political party in Malaysia, and led the governing Barisan Nasional parliamentary coalition. He is informally known as Pak Lah, 'Pak' meaning 'Uncle' while 'Lah' is taken from his name 'Abdullah'. After Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad sacked Anwar Ibrahim, he appointed Abdullah as Deputy Prime Minister. Abdullah went on to succeed Mahathir as Prime Minister in 2003. In the 2004 general election, Abdullah scored a significant victory. In the 2008 general election, the Barisan Nasional won a slim majority of seats, thus enabling Abdullah to remain in office as Prime Minister. He stepped down in favor of his successor, Najib Tun Razak, during the UMNO General Assembly held on 1 April 2009. On 3 April 2009, he was succeeded by Najib Tun Razak as Prime Minister. Abdullah was then conferred the title Tun by King Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin for his service to the nation.