Raza Rabbani

Mian Raza Rabbani is a Pakistani politician and lawyer who served as the 7th Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan from March 2015 to March 2018. He has maintained an affiliation with the Pakistan Peoples Party since 1968.

Early life and education

Rabbani was born on 23 July 1953 in Lahore, Punjab. He grew up in a well educated Punjabi Arain family. His father, Mian Atta Rabbani, served as an officer in the Royal Indian Air Force during the British Raj. Following independence, he became the first commissioned pilot in the Pakistan Air Force and acted as the Aide-de-Camp to Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Although born in Lahore, Rabbani spent his childhood in Karachi.

He attended Habib Public School for his early education. Later, he enrolled at the University of Karachi where he was politically active. He served as the head of the Liberal Students Federation in 1974. Rabbani earned his BA degree in 1976 and completed his LLB in 1981. During the rule of Zia u Haq, he spent time in jail.

Career

Rabbani began practicing law after completing his studies. He started his formal political career through the Pakistan Peoples Party in 1981. Between 1988 and 1990, he served as an Advisor and Chief Minister of Sindh for Co-operative. He was elected to the Senate of Pakistan for the first time in 1993 and held that position until 1999.

During the second government of Benazir Bhutto, Rabbani was inducted into the federal cabinet in 1994. He served as the Minister of State for Law and Justice until 1996. In 1997, Benazir Bhutto appointed him the deputy secretary general of the PPP. He was re-elected to the Senate in 2003 and again in 2006. From 2005 to 2008, he held the role of Leader of the Opposition in the Senate.

Following the 2008 general elections, Rabbani refused to join the federal cabinet of Yousaf Raza Gillani because he would not take an oath from President Pervez Musharraf. He served as the Leader of the House in the Senate from 2008 to 2009. On 3 November 2008, he was appointed Advisor to the Prime Minister on Inter-Provincial Coordination. He resigned from this post on 9 March 2009 after the PPP nominated Farooq Naek as chairman of the Senate.

Rabbani returned to the federal cabinet in February 2011 as the Federal Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination and Human Rights. He resigned from this position in May 2011. He later chaired the parliamentary committee for constitutional reform and the Parliamentary Committee on National Security. After the PPP lost the 2013 general election, Zardari named him additional secretary general of the party. In July 2013, he was the nominated PPP candidate for the presidential office.

He was unanimously elected as the Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan in March 2015. He held this leadership role until March 2018 when Sadiq Sanjrani succeeded him. In October 2019, Rabbani was elected as an executive member of the Inter Parliamentary Union. Throughout his career, he has authored several books including "LFO: a fraud on the Constitution" and "Invisible People".

Personal life

Rabbani is a proponent of socialism, communism, and left-wing ideas. He has written extensively regarding constitutional justice and Pakistani federalism. In 2003, he published a book titled "LFO: a fraud on the Constitution" to oppose the rule of Pervez Musharraf. He has also expressed strong views regarding national security and international relations.

Awards and recognition

Rabbani received the Nishan-e-Imtiaz for his parliamentary services. This honor recognizes his long-standing contributions to the legislative process in Pakistan.