Sherry Rehman is member of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)
Shehrbano “Sherry” Rehman was born in December 21, 1960. She is a Pakistani politician and journalist.
She was sworn in as Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting on March 31, 2008, and resigned from office on March 14, 2009.
Biography
Born in Karachi, Sindh, to a prominent Sindhi family, Rehman’s father, Barrister Hassanally A. Rahman Zubedi was a lawyer & educator. Her mother served as vice president of the State Bank of Pakistan, the first woman to hold the post. Rehman is the niece of late Justice Tufail Ali Abdul Rehman Zubedi, Chief Justice of the Sindh and Balochistan High Courts.
She attended Smith College and the University of Sussex where she read in art history and political science.
Sherry Rehman practiced as a professional journalist for twenty years, writing for national and international newspapers and newsmagazines. She was Editor-in-Chief of Pakistan’s leading newsmagazine, The Herald (Pakistan), for ten years and served as a member of the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) from 1988-1998. She also anchored a television show on current affairs in 1999.
Sherry Rehman was the first Pakistani to be recognized with an award for independent journalism by the UK House of Lords in its Muslim World Awards Ceremony 2002.
Sherry Rehman is married to banker Nadeem Hussain who is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Tameer Microfinance Bank.
Political career
She served as an Member of National Assembly (MNA) from 2002 to 2007, where she acted as Central Information Secretary. During this time she was also President of Policy Planning for the Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) and served on the Foreign Relations Committee in the PPP.
In March 2008 Sherry Rehman was re-appointed by declaration as MNA from Sindh province to the reserved MNA seat for women.Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Gilani appointed her Minister for Information & Broadcasting. On March 31, 2008 she was sworn in by President Pervez Musharraf.
During her tenure in parliament, Sherry Rehman authored all five PPP bills tabled in the National Assembly: Women Empowerment Bill, Anti-Honor Killings Bill, Domestic Violence Prevention Bill, Affirmative Action Bill and Hudood Repeal Bill. She also moved two Bills for the Media: the Freedom of Information Bill and the Press Act, which prevents working journalists from being arrested under the 1999 Press Ordinance.
In civil society, Sherry Rehman is the Chair of the Lady Dufferin Foundation Trust, reportedly the largest non-profit provider of women and children’s subsidized health-care in the province of Sindh.
In January 2009 a report of the International Republican Institute referred to her as “Democracy’s Hero” as a result of her close association with former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s campaign for democratic rule in Pakistan. The reference, pikced up by several Pakistani media outlets, received mixed coverage. Also January 2009, Rehman was named among the “100 Most Influential Asians” by UAE magazine Ahlan.
Her Excellency Ambassador Sherry Rehman
Sherry Rehman was appointed as Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States in November 2011. To assume her current post in Washington, Rehman stepped down from her new post as Federal Minister, and Chairperson of the Pakistan Red Crescent Society as well as Ranking Member of the National Security Committee in Pakistan’s Parliament. She has served as Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Pakistan (2008-09) and earlier also held three additional portfolios of Health, Women Development and Culture as Federal Minister, in 2008. During her time in Parliament, her areas of focus included foreign and security policy, human rights legislation, and media.
Sherry Rehman was the founding Chair of the Jinnah Institute, a non-partisan public policy think tank committed to the strengthening of democracy, governance and an independent national security project in Pakistan. One of its main priorities is re-gaining space for moderate voices in the context of an extremist advance. She co-chaired several track-two strategic dialogues with India, and was convener of a similar institutionalized dialogue process between Pakistan and Afghanistan. She lectures widely on strategic security challenges facing Pakistan, and was a key member of the Legislative Councils that govern both Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. Sherry Rehman also served as Chairperson of the Pakistan Red Crescent Society.
Rehman is also an award-winning journalist from Pakistan with 20 years of experience in both the broadcast and the print media. Former editor of the “Herald” newsmagazine based in Pakistan, she graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Smith College, USA, where she studied Government and Art History. In her capacity as a senior journalist, Rehman was the first Pakistani media person to be recognized by the UK House of Lords for independent journalism at the Annual British Muslim Ceremony in 2002.
Resignation as Federal Minister of Information
Ms Rehman resigned her post as Federal Information Minister on Saturday, March 14 2009, due to differences of opinion with the President Asif Ali Zardari on imposing restrictions on the media.Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Sherry Rehman has reportedly resigned. According to sources, Sherry resigned due to differences over the media policy of the government. The news came at a time when a high level meeting was underway at the Aiwan-e-Sadr with President Asif Ali Zardari in chair. Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, Interior Advisor Rehman Malik and Sherry Rehman were present in the meeting.
Published Work
Rehman’s latest book “The Kashmiri Shawl: From Jamawar to Paisley”, co-authored with Naheed Jafri, was published in 2006 by Mapin Publishing India and Antique Collectors Club UK. The book was selected for The R.L Shep Ethnic Textiles Book Award for 2006 in the US.
Awards
* 2002: Rehman was the first Pakistani to be recognized with an award for independent journalism by the UK House of Lords in its Muslim World Awards Ceremony in the year 2002.
* 2006: R.L Shep Ethnic Textiles Book Award, The Kashmiri Shawl
Sherry Rehman (PPP) Pictures
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