Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was deputy prime minister of Malaysia from 1993 to 1998. He also served as minister of finance from 1991 to1998.

In 1982, he was invited to join the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), the ruling party, and the government, by then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. Anwar was elected in 1984 leader of UMNO Youth, and in 1986 he became a vice president of UMNO. He served as minister of culture, youth and sports in 1983; minister of agriculture in 1984; and minister of education in 1986, prior to his tenure as finance minister and deputy prime minister in the 1990s.

Between 1995 and 1998, he organized a series of conferences on the Asian Renaissance, aimed at crossing geo-political barriers between societies and nations and creating political structures to promote dialogue across cultures.

Anwar was also chairman of the Development Committee of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in 1998.

In 1996 Anwar was awarded the Presidential Medal by Georgetown University,USA, and an honorary doctorate by the Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines. In 1993, shortly after becoming finance minister, Euromoney named him as one of the top four finance ministers; in 1996, Asiamoney named him Finance Minister of the Year.

He is chairman of the board for the Foundation for the Future and also serves as an adviser to the People's Justice Party of Malaysia. He is an internationally renowned speaker on the subjects of democracy, freedom, governance, Islam and democracy, and the need for accountability.