Jeanne Abdullah
Encyclopedia
Tun
Jeanne Abdullah née Danker is the current wife of former Prime Minister of Malaysia
, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
. She married Abdullah Badawi while he was in office. She was his second wife after the death of the Badawi's first wife, Endon Mahmood
.
Jeanne was formerly married to the younger brother of Abdullah Badawi's late wife. She was also a manager at the Seri Perdana
residential complex and has two children from her previous marriage. However, earlier in March that year, the premier dismissed rumours about his plans to remarry even though the rumours have been circulating more than a year.
to a Roman Catholic Portuguese
-Eurasian
family, she was the eldest of four siblings. She is an alumnus of Assunta Secondary School
in Petaling Jaya
, Selangor
.
Jeanne later converted to Islam
at the age of 23, when she married her first husband, Othman Mahmood, who was the younger brother of Abdullah's first late wife, Tun Endon Mahmood
.
Jeanne worked in the hotel management field at major hotels including Kuala Lumpur Hilton and the Pan Pacific Hotel. At one point, she was supervisor of the Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister's official residence while Abdullah Badawi was Deputy Prime Minister, and became the manager of Seri Perdana
, the Prime Minister's residence, when Abdullah assumed the premiership.
. Nadene is involved in the fashion industry, dealing with fashion-related and lifestyle projects.
in Putrajaya. The bride-to-be arrived at around 2.20 pm. Among the wedding guests which included some 50 relatives were Abdullah’s daughter, Nori, daughter-in-law Azrene Abdullah, his four grandchildren, Jeanne’s two daughters, her father Mathew Danker and Endon’s nine surviving brothers and sisters. Also present at the private wedding were Yayasan Budi Penyayang executive officer Leela Mohd Ali, Abdullah’s private secretary Datuk Mohamed Thajudeen Abdul Wahab, his brother-in-law Telekom Malaysia Berhad chairman Tan Sri Muhammad Radzi Mansor and wife Puan Sri Aizah Mahmood.
The marriage was solemnised in the surau of Seri Perdana by the Imam from the Putra Mosque
of Putrajaya
, Haji Abd Manaf Mat, at 2.50pm and was witnessed by the prime minister's son, Kamaluddin, and son-in-law, Khairy Jamaluddin
. Abdullah slipped a solitaire diamond ring onto Jeanne's left ring finger and kissed her on the cheek. Jeanne then slipped a wedding band on Abdullah’s finger before taking his hands together into hers and kissing them.
Later in the evening, Abdullah and Jeanne visited Endon's grave which is located at the Taman Selatan
Muslim cemetery in Precinct 20 of Putrajaya.
Her first official engagement as the wife of the Prime Minister was when she accompanied Abdullah to Brunei on 11 June 2007 to attend a banquet hosted by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei
in conjunction with the wedding of the Sultan’s fourth daughter Princess Hajah Majeedah Nuurul Bulqiah
to Pengiran Khairul Khalil Pengiran Syed Haji Jaafar
At a press conference after the engagement was announced, Abdullah stated he had known her for about two decades, as she had been his sister-in-law; Jeanne had been married to Othman Mahmood, who was the younger brother of Abdullah's first wife, Tun Endon Mahmood
. Abdullah also denied that Endon had asked him to marry Jeanne, but said Endon had loved her as "Otherwise she would not have asked her to manage our official residence". Abdullah also said that there would be no bersanding ceremony or hantaran (exchange of wedding gifts) as this was not his first marriage.
Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin at Istana Negara awarded the Seri Setia Mahkota (SSM) upon Jeanne. The SSM carried the honorific title Tun
. The award was carried out on occasion of the handing over of power from her husband to Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak
.
second chancellor. The first was the late Tun Endon Mahmood
, the former Prime Minister's first wife before passing away.
Malay titles
The Malay language has a complex system of titles and honorifics, which are still used extensively in Malaysia and Brunei. Singapore, whose Malay royalty was abolished by the British colonial government in 1891, has adopted civic titles for its leaders....
Jeanne Abdullah née Danker is the current wife of former Prime Minister of Malaysia
Prime Minister of Malaysia
The Prime Minister of Malaysia is the indirectly elected head of government of Malaysia. He is officially appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the head of state, who in HM's judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of that House of Representatives , the...
, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
Tun Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad Badawi is a Malaysian politician who served as Prime Minister from 2003 to 2009. He was also the President of the United Malays National Organisation , the largest political party in Malaysia, and led the governing Barisan Nasional parliamentary coalition...
. She married Abdullah Badawi while he was in office. She was his second wife after the death of the Badawi's first wife, Endon Mahmood
Endon Mahmood
Tun Endon Mahmood Ambak was the first wife of the 5th Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. She died from breast cancer on 20 October 2005.She was also known as Kak Endon.-Early life:...
.
Jeanne was formerly married to the younger brother of Abdullah Badawi's late wife. She was also a manager at the Seri Perdana
Seri Perdana
Seri Perdana is the official residence of the Prime Minister of Malaysia. It is located in Putrajaya, Malaysia. Construction began in 1997 and was completed in 1999. The building shares similar architecture with Perdana Putra. The first resident of this house was Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad,...
residential complex and has two children from her previous marriage. However, earlier in March that year, the premier dismissed rumours about his plans to remarry even though the rumours have been circulating more than a year.
Early life
Born Jeanne Danker on 29 July 1953 in Kuala LumpurKuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
to a Roman Catholic Portuguese
Portuguese people
The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....
-Eurasian
Eurasian (mixed ancestry)
The word Eurasian refers to people of mixed Asian and European ancestry. It was originally coined in 19th-century British India to refer to Anglo-Indians of mixed British and Indian descent....
family, she was the eldest of four siblings. She is an alumnus of Assunta Secondary School
SMK Assunta
Assunta Secondary School is the first girls' school in Petaling Jaya. Established since Malaysia gained independence in 1957, this school has become one of the premier non-boarding mission schools for girls in Malaysia.- History :...
in Petaling Jaya
Petaling Jaya
Petaling Jaya is a Malaysian city originally developed as a satellite township for Kuala Lumpur comprising mostly residential and some industrial areas. It is located in the Petaling district of Selangor with an area of approximately 97.2 km². On 20 June 2006, Petaling Jaya was granted a...
, Selangor
Selangor
Selangor also known by its Arabic honorific, Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity") is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east, Negeri Sembilan to the south and the Strait of Malacca to the west...
.
Jeanne later converted to Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
at the age of 23, when she married her first husband, Othman Mahmood, who was the younger brother of Abdullah's first late wife, Tun Endon Mahmood
Endon Mahmood
Tun Endon Mahmood Ambak was the first wife of the 5th Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. She died from breast cancer on 20 October 2005.She was also known as Kak Endon.-Early life:...
.
Jeanne worked in the hotel management field at major hotels including Kuala Lumpur Hilton and the Pan Pacific Hotel. At one point, she was supervisor of the Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister's official residence while Abdullah Badawi was Deputy Prime Minister, and became the manager of Seri Perdana
Seri Perdana
Seri Perdana is the official residence of the Prime Minister of Malaysia. It is located in Putrajaya, Malaysia. Construction began in 1997 and was completed in 1999. The building shares similar architecture with Perdana Putra. The first resident of this house was Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad,...
, the Prime Minister's residence, when Abdullah assumed the premiership.
Family
Jeanne has two daughters, Nadiah Kimie, and Nadene Kimie, from her previous marriage. Nadiah runs a visual communications company in Kuala LumpurKuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
. Nadene is involved in the fashion industry, dealing with fashion-related and lifestyle projects.
Marriage with Abdullah
On 9 June 2007 she was escorted in a Proton Chancellor car bearing the Prime Minister’s favourite license number 13, by police from her home in Damansara Perdana to be married to Abdullah Badawi at a private ceremony attended by close family members at the Prime Minister's official residence, Seri PerdanaSeri Perdana
Seri Perdana is the official residence of the Prime Minister of Malaysia. It is located in Putrajaya, Malaysia. Construction began in 1997 and was completed in 1999. The building shares similar architecture with Perdana Putra. The first resident of this house was Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad,...
in Putrajaya. The bride-to-be arrived at around 2.20 pm. Among the wedding guests which included some 50 relatives were Abdullah’s daughter, Nori, daughter-in-law Azrene Abdullah, his four grandchildren, Jeanne’s two daughters, her father Mathew Danker and Endon’s nine surviving brothers and sisters. Also present at the private wedding were Yayasan Budi Penyayang executive officer Leela Mohd Ali, Abdullah’s private secretary Datuk Mohamed Thajudeen Abdul Wahab, his brother-in-law Telekom Malaysia Berhad chairman Tan Sri Muhammad Radzi Mansor and wife Puan Sri Aizah Mahmood.
The marriage was solemnised in the surau of Seri Perdana by the Imam from the Putra Mosque
Putra Mosque
The Putra Mosque, or Masjid Putra in Malay language, is the principal mosque of Putrajaya, Malaysia. Construction of the mosque began in 1997 and was completed two years later. It is located next to Perdana Putra which houses the Malaysian Prime Minister's office and man-made Putrajaya Lake...
of Putrajaya
Putrajaya
Putrajaya is a planned city, located 25km south of Kuala Lumpur, that serves as the federal administrative centre of Malaysia. The seat of government was shifted in 1999 from Kuala Lumpur to Putrajaya, due to the overcrowding and congestion in the Kuala Lumpur areas...
, Haji Abd Manaf Mat, at 2.50pm and was witnessed by the prime minister's son, Kamaluddin, and son-in-law, Khairy Jamaluddin
Khairy Jamaluddin
Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar is a Malaysian politician, and the son-in-law of former Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Since 2008, Khairy has been a member of the Malaysian Parliament representing the constituency of Rembau...
. Abdullah slipped a solitaire diamond ring onto Jeanne's left ring finger and kissed her on the cheek. Jeanne then slipped a wedding band on Abdullah’s finger before taking his hands together into hers and kissing them.
Later in the evening, Abdullah and Jeanne visited Endon's grave which is located at the Taman Selatan
Taman Selatan
Taman Selatan or Southern Park ' is a cemetery in Putrajaya, Malaysia. It is analogous to Arlington National Cemetery in Washington DC, USA....
Muslim cemetery in Precinct 20 of Putrajaya.
Her first official engagement as the wife of the Prime Minister was when she accompanied Abdullah to Brunei on 11 June 2007 to attend a banquet hosted by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei
Brunei
Brunei , officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace , is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia...
in conjunction with the wedding of the Sultan’s fourth daughter Princess Hajah Majeedah Nuurul Bulqiah
Majeedah Bolkiah
Her Royal Highness Princess Hajah Majeedah Nuurul Bulqiah is the fourth child of Hassanal Bolkiah, Sultan of Brunei and his wife, Pengiran Anak Saleha....
to Pengiran Khairul Khalil Pengiran Syed Haji Jaafar
At a press conference after the engagement was announced, Abdullah stated he had known her for about two decades, as she had been his sister-in-law; Jeanne had been married to Othman Mahmood, who was the younger brother of Abdullah's first wife, Tun Endon Mahmood
Endon Mahmood
Tun Endon Mahmood Ambak was the first wife of the 5th Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. She died from breast cancer on 20 October 2005.She was also known as Kak Endon.-Early life:...
. Abdullah also denied that Endon had asked him to marry Jeanne, but said Endon had loved her as "Otherwise she would not have asked her to manage our official residence". Abdullah also said that there would be no bersanding ceremony or hantaran (exchange of wedding gifts) as this was not his first marriage.
Honorific Titles
Upon marriage to Abdullah, Jeanne was automatically conferred the female version of her husband's honorific title, Dato' Seri, which is Datin Seri. Later on 3 April 2009, the King of Malaysia, Yang di-Pertuan AgongYang di-Pertuan Agong
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong is the head of state of Malaysia. The office was established in 1957 when the Federation of Malaya gained independence....
Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin at Istana Negara awarded the Seri Setia Mahkota (SSM) upon Jeanne. The SSM carried the honorific title Tun
Tun
- Science and technology :* TUN/TAP, a computer network device driver* TUN , a Danish product standard for building materials* Tun , a part of the Mayan long count calendar system* A unit of time in the Mayan Long Count calendar...
. The award was carried out on occasion of the handing over of power from her husband to Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak
Najib Tun Razak
Dato' Sri Haji Mohd Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak is the sixth, and since 2009, Prime Minister of Malaysia. He previously held the post of Deputy Prime Minister from 7 January 2004 until he succeeded Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as Prime Minister on 3 April 2009. Najib is President of the United...
.
Public life
Tun Jeanne Abdullah was recently made Open University Malaysia'sOpen University Malaysia
- About OUM :Open University Malaysia or OUM is the 7th Malaysian private university and it is owned by the , a consortium of 11 public universities in Malaysia. It leverages on the quality, prestige and capabilities of its owners - a consortium of 11 Malaysian public universities.Currently, the...
second chancellor. The first was the late Tun Endon Mahmood
Endon Mahmood
Tun Endon Mahmood Ambak was the first wife of the 5th Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. She died from breast cancer on 20 October 2005.She was also known as Kak Endon.-Early life:...
, the former Prime Minister's first wife before passing away.