The cabinet was sworn in on 22 August 1959 and Rahman assumed the office of Prime Minister from Abdul Razak Hussein who was the Acting Prime Minister after Rahman took a three-month leave of office to campaign for the elections.
All federal ministers from the First Rahman cabinet were retained with the exception of H.S. Lee who did not contest the 1959 elections and Mohd Khir Johari who was contesting in the constituency of Kedah Tengah, where elections had been postponed to 30 September 1959.[1]