Mohd Shariff Omar political career started when he won the State Seat of Sungai Dua of Penang in the 1982 General Election.
In 1995, he was appointed as Deputy Chief Minister of Penang following won the newly created state seat of Permatang Berangan.
He returned as a Member of Parliament for another 2 terms from 1999 until 2008 and during that period, he was appointed as Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry I.
[1] Mohd Shariff was dismissed from UMNO after submitting nomination forms in the 2013 Malaysian general election as an independent candidate for running Parliamentary seat of Tasek Gelugor.
Mohd Shariff Omar currently served as Independent Non-Executive Director of Serba Dinamik Holding Berhads appointed on 9 June 2022.