He took his oath of office before Kedah Sultan Tunku Sallehuddin Ibni Almarhum Sultan Badlishah in a ceremony at Istana Anak Bukit today.

The PPBM deputy president takes over from former chief executive Ahmad Bashah Md Hanipah, whose coalition, Barisan Nasional (BN), lost badly in the recently concluded general election.

From 20 seats in GE13, BN has been reduced to a mere three seats in the state assembly, winning only Guar Chempedak, Sungai Tiang and Bandar Baharu.

PH secured 18 seats, while PAS won 15 seats.

Mukhriz had contested the Jitra state seat and Jerlun parliamentary seat, and won both.

Mukhriz, under a BN ticket, had won the Ayer Hitam state seat in the 13th general election in 2013, and was subsequently appointed menteri besar.

However, in January 2016, most of the Umno division leaders came together to declare that they had lost confidence in Mukhriz’s leadership, plunging the state into a leadership crisis which lasted three weeks.

The crisis came to an end when Mukhriz announced that he would relinquish his chief executive position. Bashah, the then Bakar Bata state assemblyman, was later sworn in as MB.

Mukhriz would then go on to join PPBM, chaired by his father Dr Mahathir Mohamad.