Sultan Ismail of Johor

Infobox_Monarch | name =His Royal Highness Almarhum Sultan Ismail
title =Sultan of Johor


caption =Almarhum Sultan Sir Ismail Al-Khalidi ibni Almarhum Sultan Sir Ibrahim Al-Masyhur
reign =Sultan of Johor - 1959 - 1981
coronation =1960
predecessor =Sultan Ibrahim
successor =Sultan Iskandar
suc-type =Tengku Mahkota
heir =Sultan Iskandar, Tunku Mahkota Rahman (1961-1981)
consort =Sultanah Tun Aminah
Sultanah Nora
issue =
royal house =House of Bendahara
royal anthem =
father =Sultan Ibrahim
mother =
date of birth =28 October 1894
place of birth =
date of death =10 May 1981 (age 86)
place of death =Johor Bahru, Johor
buried =Makam Mahmoodiah |

Almarhum Sultan Sir Ismail Al-Khalidi ibn Almarhum Sultan Sir Ibrahim Al-Masyhur, KBE, CMG, was the third sultan of modern Johor in Malaysia.

Born Tunku Ismail on October 28, 1894 at Istana Semayam, Johor, he was the eldest son of Sultan Ibrahim by his first wife, Sultanah Ungku Maimunah.

Though proclaimed "Tunku Mahkota" or crown prince at the age of one, he did not succeed his father until the latter died in May 1959. He was nonetheless the de facto ruler of Johor, as his father was overseas most of the time.

He was crowned at Istana Besar, Johor Bahru on the 10th February,1960 and was the last Johor Sultan to be officially crowned.

In 1961, he stripped his eldest son Tunku Mahmood Iskandar,the future Sultan Iskandar of the post of Tunku Mahkota due to misconduct. His second son, Tengku Rahman (1933-1989) became the Tunku Mahkota instead. However, shortly before his death in 1981, Sultan Ismail pardoned his eldest son and it was Tunku Mahmood Iskandar who succeeded to the throne as the fourth Sultan of Johor.

He was the first Chancellor of "Universiti Teknologi Malaysia" when the institution was established.

Sultan Ismail who was an animal lover was known affectionately as "Lau Sultan" among the Chinese community in Johor meaning "an old or elderly Sultan".

In 1976, both Sultan Ismail and his wife, Ungku Tun Aminah binti Ungku Ahmad, met with a car accident in Muar. While she was permanently left in a vegetative state until her death in 1977 owing to brain damage, the sultan escaped with only minor injuries. After the death of his mother, however, it was rumoured that the Raja Muda, the future Sultan Iskandar, went around Johor to slap people who did not wear a black band on their sleeves or white band on their songkoks, a sign of respect for the royal deceased.

Sultan Ismail died on May 10, 1981 and was interred at the Makam Mahmoodiah royal mausoleum, Johor Bahru.

Family

A meek and quiet ruler, Sultan Ismail married two official wives who served as sultanahs of Johor. They were:
# Ungku Tun Aminah binti Ungku Ahmad (d. 1977) perished in a road accident in 1976. He had all together seven children from his first marriage of which only three survived to adulthood and this include the current Sultan of Johor, Sultan Iskandar.
# Tengku Nora binti Tengku Panglima Raja Ahmad