Sultan Ismail Petra ibni Almarhum Sultan Yahya Petra was the 28th Sultan of Kelantan and the 11th Sultan of Modern Kelantan who reigned from 30 March 1979 to 13 September 2010. He succeeded on the death of his father, Sultan Yahya Petra. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Sultan Muhammad V who ascended the throne on 13 September 2010 after being deemed incapacitated. Sultan Ismail Petra died at the Raja Perempuan Zainab II Hospital in Kota Bharu on 28 September 2019, aged 69, after 10 years of suffering from a massive stroke and was buried at the Kelantan Royal Mausoleum.

The Sultan of Kelantan is the constitutional head of Kelantan state in Malaysia. The executive power of the state is vested in him as the monarch of the state. The current sultan, Muhammad V, is the 29th Sultan of Kelantan. He is the Head of Islam in the state and the source of all titles, honours and dignities of its people. He was the 15th Yang di-Pertuan Agong or the monarch and head of state of Malaysia from 13 December 2016 to his abdication on 6 January 2019, after his election on 14 October 2016 at the 243rd (special) Conference of Rulers.