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Mohamed Khir bin Johari (; 29 January 1923 – 19 November 2006) was a politician and the former Malaysian Minister of Education.
Born on 29 January 1923, in Alor Setar, Khir received formal education in the prestigious Sultan Abdul Hamid College (KSAH) in Kedah. Khir was a Member of Parliament from 1955 to 1982. He was involved in the Malaysian political scene from its inception and served in the Cabinet of Tunku Abdul Rahman and Tun Abdul Razak.
Upon his retirement he held positions in several organisations, most famously as President of the World Wide Fund for Nature of Malaysia (WWF).
Khir died of heart failure at 83 on 19 November 2006. He was accorded a state funeral and was buried in Makam Pahlawan near Masjid Negara, Kuala Lumpur.
After Tunku Abdul Rahman took over from Onn Jaafar as president of UMNO, Khir was appointed as Secretary-General of UMNO and was tasked to oversee the first federal election in Malaya in 1955. After winning the constituency of Kedah Tengah, Khir was appointed into the Cabinet as Assistant Minister of Agriculture.
In 1964, Khir was made Minister of Agriculture, replacing Abdul Aziz Ishak, who had been relieved of his position and later detained under the Internal Security Act.
In 1966, Khir returned to helm the Ministry of Education until 1969. Following the 13 May riots, Khir was appointed Minister of Trade and Industry as key Tunku allies were sidelined. This allowed the government to implement Malay nationalist policies in education, including the abolishment of English-medium education at primary, secondary and tertiary levels.
In February 1973, Khir was appointed the Malaysian Ambassador to the United States of America, and later concurrently the Permanent Representative to the United Nations. He served as a diplomat until 1976.
In 1978, Khir contested his last general election, and retired from active politics at the end of the term in 1982.
Khir was also the Charter President of Kiwanis Club of Kuala Lumpur and was later awarded the title of 'Bapa Kiwanis'. He was also the founding chairman of the Malaysian Toray Science Foundation, as well as the Tunku Abdul Rahman Foundation.
Khir took an active interest in sports, serving as deputy president of the Olympic Council of Malaysia from 1982 to 2002. He was also famously the president of the Badminton Association of Malaysia from 1961 to 1985, during which the Malaysian team managed to win the prestigious Thomas Cup in 1967.
Khir was also the founding president of the Sepak Takraw Association of Malaysia, president of the Malaysian Body Building Federation and president of the Lawn Tennis Association of Malaysia.
He was also the recipient of the Tokoh Sukan Award in 1998, International Olympic Council Merit Award in 1998 for the development of sports, the President's Award by the Malaysia American Society in 1999, the PATA Roll of Honor in 2001, the OCM Hall of Fame in 2002, the Paul Harris Fellow by the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International, the Tablet of Honor by the Kiwanis International Foundation in 2003, the United Nations Malaysia Award in 2004, and the first recipient of the Golden Years Award by the AUTORR Foundation in 2005.
He was bestowed the award of the Panglima Mangku Negara (P.M.N.) which carries the title of Tan Sri, the Seri Paduka Seri Setia Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah (D.H.M.S.) which carries the title of Dato' Paduka and the Dato' Paduka Mahkota Selangor (D.P.M.S.) in 1992.
| + Federal Legislative Council Percentage figures based on total turnout. ! | Year ! | Constituency ! colspan=2 | Candidate ! | Votes ! | Pct ! colspan=2 | Opponent(s) ! | Votes ! | Pct ! | Ballots cast ! | Majority ! | Turnout | |
| 1955 | Kedah Tengah | Mohamed Khir Johari ( UMNO) | 31,077 | 95.60% | Puteh Napa (Parti Negara) | 1,431 | 4.40% | 33,050 | 29,646 | 88.90% |
| + Dewan Rakyat ! | Year ! | Constituency ! colspan=2 | Candidate ! | Votes ! | Pct ! colspan=2 | Opponent(s) ! | Votes ! | Pct ! | Ballots cast ! | Majority ! | Turnout | |
| 1959 | P009 Kedah Tengah | Mohamed Khir Johari ( UMNO) | 11,271 | 66.53% | Hussain Che Dol (PMIP) | 4,435 | 26.18% | 17,163 | 6,836 | 75.40% | ||
| Mohamed Shariff Babul (PRM) | 1,234 | 7.28% |
| + Dewan Rakyat ! | Year ! | Constituency ! colspan=2 | Candidate ! | Votes ! | Pct ! colspan=2 | Opponent(s) ! | Votes ! | Pct ! | Ballots cast ! | Majority ! | Turnout | |
| 1964 | P009 Kedah Tengah | Mohamed Khir Johari ( UMNO) | 16,042 | 74.95% | Hussain Che Dol (PMIP) | 5,362 | 25.05% | 22,289 | 10,680 | 74.72% | ||
| 1969 | Mohamed Khir Johari ( UMNO) | 13,958 | 54.65% | Ahmad Othman (PMIP) | 11,583 | 45.35% | 26,677 | 2,375 | 75.57% | |||
| 1974 | P012 Kuala Muda | Mohamed Khir Johari ( UMNO) | Unopposed | |||||||||
| 1978 | Mohamed Khir Johari ( UMNO) | 17,761 | 68.30% | Ghazali Din (PAS) | 8,243 | 31.70% | 26,817 | 9,518 | 78.06% | |||
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