Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, once a firebrand left-leaning Islamic youth leader, was long considered Malaysia's Prime Minister-in-waiting.

His sacking from the Cabinet effectively ended the roller-coaster career ride of the man, who until yesterday was both Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, but whose past roles included being a student and Islamic activist as well as a staunch government critic. In his political career, the 51-year-old has been known as an intellectual who is given to quoting Shakespeare, Confucius and the Quran.

But many also remember him as a charismatic activist in the 60s and 70s on social, economic and political issues such as rural poverty, wealth distribution and political corruption. In 1974, he was arrested under the Internal Security Act for leading anti-government demonstrations against impoverished conditions in the north, and was released unconditionally only in 1976 after 20 months in jail.

He built up a national following as a founding leader of the Malaysian Muslim Youth Movement (ABIM) during the years after his release, until 1982, when Dr Mahathir invited him to join Umno. He was then considered the government's most outspoken critic, and many of his admirers were reported to be disenchanted with his shift to the political mainstream.

Datuk Anwar said at the time that only Umno -- which has led a multi-racial coalition that has ruled Malaysia since independence from Britain in 1957 -- could eradicate poverty, curb corruption and promote progressive Islamic values. Feted by Dr Mahathir, he rose rapidly through the corridors of power, holding several senior Cabinet posts, including the ministries of agriculture and education, and was appointed Finance Minister in 1991.

The Opposition leader in Parliament, Mr Lim Kit Siang, took to calling him "Prime Minister-in-waiting''.

Datuk Anwar was born on Aug 10, 1947, in the northern island of Penang, the son of a hospital porter who later became a Member of Parliament. After graduating from the University of Malaya in 1971, he set up a private education institution for poor Malay students. He founded ABIM in 1971 and led mass student protests in northern Kedah state against the government over reports of starvation deaths on plantations as rubber prices crashed.

He and other leaders were arrested under the ISA, whose repeal Datuk Anwar continues to advocate today. Malaysia's Education Minister at the time of his arrest was an up-and-coming politician named Dr Mahathir Mohamad. In contrast to his feisty boss, Datuk Anwar was comfortable and genial with the foreign press.

He was also seen as unencumbered by the colonial-era sensitivities of Dr Mahathir's generation. Time magazine in 1997 hailed him as a new breed of more liberal Asian leaders. Among his many awards, he was named one of the top four finance ministers by the financial magazine, Euromoney, in 1993 and Finance Minister of the year for 1996 by AsiaMoney.

Apart from his government and political posts, he also holds positions in several committees, clubs and associations. Datuk Anwar is a man who talks easily about his views on Islam, saying Malaysia cannot look to the Middle East for inspiration because Islam in Malaysia has its own roots.

He argues that Muslims must act as teachers, not judges, and that Islam is way of life not a set of rituals. Religious tolerance does not mean tolerating corruption, moral decadence, or fanaticism, he says. He was instrumental in establishing Bank Islam, and extending interest-free banking to other financial institutions in the country. He also helped set up the International Islamic University.

But when asked whose political philosophy he admires, Datuk Anwar cites the Czech playwright-turned-President Vaclav Havel. He also says he admires the work of Nobel literature Prize winner Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

Datuk Anwar married a medical doctor, Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, in 1980 and they have six children. -- Reuters, AFP, Bernama