The Honourable Datuk Seri Panglima Dr. Maximus Ongkili is of KadazanDusun descent and born on October 26, 1953 in Jesselton (now known as Kota Kinabalu), Sabah, where he grew up with his eight other male siblings. His father was a policeman and mother, a housewife.

Despite only starting schooling at the age of 10, his capabilities, discipline and determination saw Datuk Seri Panglima Dr. Ongkili winning the prestigious Colombo Plan Scholarship to study in Australia. He returned home in 1985 with a Degree in Agricultural Science and PhD in Agricultural Economic from the La Trobe University. He was made a Distinguished Alumni of the university in April 2009.

Upon his return to Malaysia, Datuk Seri Panglima Dr Ongkili worked as a lecturer with Universiti Pertanian Malaysia (now Universiti Putra Malaysia) and later held senior research positions with the Institute of Strategic and International (ISIS) Malaysia (1985-1987) and the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) Sabah, where he was Executive Director/CEO from 1991 to 1994.

Datuk Seri Panglima Dr. Ongkili also completed fellowship and summer programmes at the United Nations University (Tokyo), Harvard Institute for International Development (HIID), Boston and Oxford University SAID Business School.

His foray into politics began in early 1994 when he was nominated to stand as a Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) candidate in the Sabah State Elections, and won the state seat of Langkon. In the party, he was made PBS Secretary-General before being elevated to his present post as PBS Deputy President in October 1994.

He has been MP for Kota Marudu in Sabah since 1995, and a three-term member of the Sabah State Legislative Assembly from 1994 to 2008. He is Chairman of the party's Disciplinary Committee and also heads the party's Research and Training Bureau. He is also currently Deputy President of the Kadazan-Dusun Cultural Association (KDCA) Sabah.

Datuk Seri Panglima Dr. Johnity Ongkili was first appointed into the Cabinet in 2004 when he was made Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department holding the portfolio of national unity and integration, from March 2004 to March 2008. After the March 2008 General Election, he was given the post of Federal Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation.

Prior to his appointment as a Federal Minister, he had served as Science & Technology Advisor to the Chief Minister of Sabah (2003-2004). He also served for two terms as member of the Public Accounts Committee both in Parliament and the Sabah Legislative Assembly.

Other posts he held included as member of the National IT Council (NITC), member of the National Service (NS) Advisory Board (2002-2004), Chairman of the Select Committee on National Unity and National Service (2004-2009) and Chairman of the Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation (MCPF) from 2004 to 2008.

Datuk Seri Panglima Dr. Ongkili currently holds chairmanship of the Malaysian Innovation Foundation (YIM), a foundation he created under the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation to push the innovation efforts in the country. In October 2011, he was appointed by Parliament to head a nine-member Parliamentary Select Committee on electoral reforms which was tasked to find ways to improve the electoral process within a six-month period.

As a tribute to the distinctive role he plays in making innovation the foundation of Malaysia’s economic and social transformation, the LimKokWing University of Creative Technology conferred him the Honorary Doctorate of Leadership in Innovation on Dec 17, 2011.

Datuk Seri Panglima Dr. Ongkili is married to Datin Seri Joan Maluda and has two children - Rachel Jane and Andreas Jordan.