Shehbaz Sharif

Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif is a Pakistani politician and businessman who serves as the prime minister of Pakistan. He has held this position since 2024, following a previous term between 2022 and 2023. As the president of the Pakistan Muslim League (N), he also served as the chief minister of Punjab for over 12 years across three separate terms.

Early life and education

Sharif was born on 23 September 1951 in Lahore, West Punjab. His family possesses Punjabi roots with Kashmiri ancestry. His father, Mian Muhammad Sharif, worked as an upper-middle-class businessman and industrialist. This family originally emigrated from Anantnag in Kashmir for business purposes. They eventually settled in the village of Jati Umra in the Amritsar district of Punjab during the early twentieth century.

His mother's family originated from Pulwama. Following the partition of India and the independence of Pakistan in 1947, his parents migrated from Amritsar to Lahore. He has two brothers named Abbas Sharif and Nawaz Sharif. Nawaz served as a three-time elected Prime Minister of Pakistan.

Sharif attended St. Anthony High School in Lahore. He later earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Government College University, Lahore. After he graduated, he joined the family-owned Ittefaq Group. In 1985, he was elected as the president of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

Career

The political career of Sharif began in 1988 when he was elected to the Punjab Assembly from Constituency PP-122 (Lahore-VII). He ran as a candidate for the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI) and secured 22,372 votes. This term ended prematurely in 1990 due to the dissolution of the assemblies. He was re-elected to the Provincial Assembly of Punjab from Constituency PP-124 (Lahore-IX) in 1990. During that same election, he won a seat in the National Assembly of Pakistan from Constituency NA-96 (Lahore-V) with 54,506 votes.

He was re-elected to the Punjab Assembly in 1993 as a candidate for the Pakistan Muslim League (N). He received 28,068 votes for the provincial seat and 55,867 votes for his National Assembly seat. Shortly after these elections, he became the Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly. His tenure in this role ended in November 1996 when the assemblies were dissolved.

Sharif was elected as the Chief Minister of Punjab for the first time on 20 February 1997. He focused his administration on healthcare, education, agriculture, and industrial promotion. He also launched various development projects in Lahore. His leadership ended on 12 October 1999 following the Pakistani coup d'état.

Following the coup, Sharif was imprisoned. In December 2000, he and his family were forcibly exiled to Saudi Arabia at the request of the Saudi royal family. He was elected as the PML(N) President in August 2002 while in exile. After returning to Pakistan in 2007, he served a second term as chief minister following the 2008 general election. He won a third term as chief minister after the 2013 provincial election and served until his party lost in 2018.

Sharif was nominated as the leader of the opposition after the 2018 general election. He became prime minister in 2022 after a no-confidence motion against Imran Khan passed in the National Assembly. Following the 2024 general election, he returned to the role of prime minister with a coalition government.

Personal life

The family of Sharif has deep ties to Pakistani politics. His brother, Nawaz Sharif, served as the longest non-consecutive Prime Minister of Pakistan. The wife of Nawaz, Kulsoom Nawaz, served as the First Lady of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms. Their daughter, Maryam Nawaz, is the current Chief Minister of Punjab.