| Portrait | Name
(Birth–Death)
Constituency | Political party | Title | Took office | Left office | Deputy Minister | Prime Minister
(Cabinet) |
|---|
|  | Abdul Razak Hussein
(1922–1976)
(Deputy Prime Minister)
MP for Pekan | Alliance (UMNO) | Minister of Defence | 31 August 1957 | 22 September 1970 | Vacant | Tunku Abdul Rahman
(I • II • III • IV) |
|---|
| | Hamzah Abu Samah
(1924–2012)
MP for Raub | 13 August 1973 | 14 September 1974 | Abdul Razak Hussein
(I) |
|---|
|  | Mustapha Harun
(1918–1995)
MP for Marudu | BN (USNO) | 15 September 1974 | 1974 | Dzulkifli Abdul Hamid | Abdul Razak Hussein
(II) |
|---|
| | Abdul Razak Hussein
(1922–1976)
(Prime Minister)
MP for Pekan | BN (UMNO) | 1974 | 1976 | Mokhtar Hashim | Abdul Razak Hussein
(II) |
|---|
| | Hussein Onn
(1922–1990)
MP for Sri Gading | 1976 | 1978 | Hussein Onn
(I) |
|---|
|  | Abdul Taib Mahmud
(1936–2024)
MP for Samarahan | BN (PBB) | 1978 | 1979 | Hussein Onn
(II) |
|---|
| | Hussein Onn
(1922–1990)
(Prime Minister)
MP for Sri Gading | BN (UMNO) | 1979 | 16 July 1981 | Abu Hassan Omar | Hussein Onn
(II) |
|---|
|  | Mahathir Mohamad
(b. 1925)
(Prime Minister)
MP for Kubang Pasu | 17 July 1981 | 6 May 1986 | Abang Abu Bakar | Mahathir Mohamad
(I • II) |
|---|
|  | Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
(1939–2025)
MP for Kepala Batas | 11 August 1986 | 7 May 1987 | Mahathir Mohamad
(III) |
|---|
| | Tengku Ahmad Rithauddeen Ismail
(1932–2022)
MP for Kota Bharu | 20 May 1987 | 26 October 1990 |
|---|
|  | Najib Razak
(b. 1953)
MP for Pekan | 27 October 1990 | 7 May 1995 | Wan Abu Bakar Wan Mohamed | Mahathir Mohamad
(IV) |
|---|
|  | Syed Hamid Albar
(b. 1944)
MP for Kota Tinggi | 8 May 1995 | 14 December 1999 | Abdullah Fadzil Che Wan | Mahathir Mohamad
(V) |
|---|
| | Najib Razak
(b. 1953)
(Deputy Prime Minister)
MP for Pekan | 15 December 1999 | 18 March 2008 | Shafie Apdal
(1999–2004)
Zainal Abidin Zin
(2004–2008) | Mahathir Mohamad
(VI)
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
(I • II) |
|---|
|  | Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
(1939–2025)
(Prime Minister)
MP for Kepala Batas | 19 March 2008 | 9 April 2009 | Abu Seman Yusop | Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
(III) |
|---|
|  | Ahmad Zahid Hamidi
(b. 1953)
MP for Bagan Datok | 10 April 2009 | 15 May 2013 | Abdul Latiff Ahmad | Najib Razak
(I) |
|---|
|  | Hishammuddin Hussein
(b.1961)
MP for Sembrong | 16 May 2013 | 9 May 2018 | Abdul Rahim Bakri
(2013–2015)
Mohd Johari Baharum
(2015–2018) | Najib Razak
(II) |
|---|
|  | Mohamad Sabu
(b.1954)
MP for Kota Raja | PH (AMANAH) | 21 May 2018 | 24 February 2020 | Liew Chin Tong | Mahathir Mohamad
(VII) |
|---|
|  | Ismail Sabri Yaakob
(b. 1960)
(Senior Minister)
(Deputy Prime Minister)
MP for Bera | BN (UMNO) | Senior Minister of Defence | 10 March 2020 | 7 July 2021 | Ikmal Hisham Abdul Aziz | Muhyiddin Yassin
(I) |
|---|
| Minister of Defence | 7 July 2021 | 16 August 2021 |
|  | Hishammuddin Hussein
(b. 1961)
(Senior Minister)
MP for Sembrong | Senior Minister of Defence | 30 August 2021 | 24 November 2022 | Ismail Sabri Yaakob
(I) |
|---|
|  | Mohamad Hasan
(b. 1956)
MP for Rembau | Minister of Defence | 3 December 2022 | 12 December 2023 | Adly Zahari | Anwar Ibrahim
(I) |
|---|
|  | Mohamed Khaled Nordin
(b. 1958)
MP for Kota Tinggi | 12 December 2023 | Incumbent |
|---|
|
