Jamaludin Jarjis earned his Bachelors of Science in electrical engineering at the University of Manchester, Institute of Science and Technology, and another Bachelors of Science in electrical engineering from the University of Manitoba in Canada. He also has a PhD in electrical engineering from the University of McGill in Canada. Jarjis began his career as a lecturer at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia in 1974. He worked there for 10 years until he left to start his own consultancy services, J & A Associates, which specialized in electrical power and mechanical engineering. He was elected a member of parliament for Rompin in 1990 and was elected a member of the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) Supreme Council in May 2000. Jarjis was chairman of Tenaga Nasional Berhad, Malaysia’s national power utility company that is the largest listed company on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange, before he joined the Cabinet as Finance Minister in 2002. In 2004 there was a cabinet reshuffle and Jarjis was appointed Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister. Three months later his post changed to Science, Technology, and Innovation Minister. He began his assignment to the United States on September 1, 2009. In addition, he is a former chairman of the Public Accounts Committee and the Parliament Back Benchers Club.