Rafidah binti Aziz (Jawi: ; born 4 November 1943) is a Malaysian politician who was Member of Parliament (MP) for the Selayang from 1978 to 1982 and Kuala Kangsar constituency from 1982 to 2013. Born in Kuala Kangsar, Perak, Rafidah was Minister of International Trade and Industry from 1987 to 2008. As minister, she was the chairman of MATRADE beginning in 1991. She was a veteran politician from United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) of Barisan Nasional (BN) until 2018. Early career Rafidah graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics in 1966 and a master's degree in Economics in 1970 from the University of Malaya. She then began her career as a tutor and lecturer in the Faculty of Economics, University of Malaya from 1966 to 1976. Political career Rafidah was an active member in the Malaysian political scene, having previously been appointed as a Member of the Malaysian Parliament. She was appointed as Senator in 1974 and resigned to contest in the General Elections in 1978. She served as Member of Parliament in the Selayang Constituency (from 1978 to 1982) and Kuala Kangsar Constituency (from 1982 to 2013). She served in the UMNO Supreme Council for 38 years since winning a seat in the council in 1975. She is Malaysia's longest-serving Prime Minister, having served in that capacity from 1987 to 2018. Previously, she also hold the portfolio of Minister of Public Enterprises from 1980 to 1987 and Minister of Finance from 1977 to 1980. In 1976, she was appointed as Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Public Enterprises. Rafidah was the head of United Malays National Organisation's Woman Wing (Wanita UMNO in Malay) from 1999 to 2009, before losing out in the 2009 UMNO General Assembly election to Shahrizat Abdul Jalil after seeking re-election for another term. She is holding the title of the longest serving woman MP in Malaysia from 1978 to 2013 for 35 years. In 2006, Rafidah was accused of corruption related to the issuance of Approved Permits (AP) for importing foreign vehicles by former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in his series of criticisms against the Government of Malaysia. Mahathir had also criticised then Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's handling of the Approved Permits (AP) issue, expressing his surprise that Rafidah was still retained as a Cabinet member although two people on the list of persons issued with highest number of APs were linked