Joseph Pairin Kitingan

Who is Joseph Pairin Kitingan?

Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima Joseph Pairin Kitingan, is a Malaysian politician and was the seventh Chief Minister of Sabah, a state in Malaysia. He held the post from April 1985 to March 1994. Currently, he is the Deputy Chief Minister and Minister of Infrastructure Development of Sabah and has held the post since March 2004. He is the founder and President of Parti Bersatu Sabah.

Pairin was born in Papar. He attended La Salle Secondary School, an all-boys school, located in Kota Kinabalu. He won a Colombo Plan scholarship and went on to read law at the University of Adelaide and upon completing his study, he came back to Sabah to work as a State Counsel with the Sabah Legal Department and was later made Deputy Public Prosecutor. Subsequently, he practised law with a local legal firm.

Joseph Pairin Kitingan is a Catholic, married to Genevieve Lee, a retired teacher. They have two sons, Alexander and Daniel, who are both trained lawyers.