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Yousaf Raza GillaniPrime Minister of Pakistan
Date of Birth: 09.06.1952
Country:  Pakistan |
Content:
- Yusuf Raza Gillani: A Pakistani Statesman
- Education and Political Beginnings
- Early Political Career
- Joining the PPP
- Rise in the PPP
- Downfall of Bhutto's Second Government
- Imprisonment and Aftermath
- Rise to Prime Ministership
- Election as Prime Minister
- Personal Life
Yusuf Raza Gillani: A Pakistani Statesman
Early Life and FamilyYusuf Raza Gillani was born on June 9, 1952, in Karachi, Pakistan. He comes from a prominent clan of landowners and Muslim clerics. His family's stronghold is Multan, a major city in Southern Punjab. Gillani represents the fourth generation of his family to be involved in elected office, with his great-grandfather being elected to the Legislative Council of India in 1921. Many of his other relatives have also been prominent politicians. Gillani's father, Alamdar Hussain Gillani, served as Health Minister in the Punjab provincial government in the 1950s.
Education and Political Beginnings
Yusuf Raza Gillani graduated from Punjab University in Lahore with a Master's degree in Journalism. He began his political career in 1978 by joining the central leadership of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML). The previous year, the country had undergone a military coup, with General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq deposing the government of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the leader of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP). In 1979, Bhutto was executed.
Early Political Career
In 1983, Gillani was elected Chairman of the Multan District Council, defeating the incumbent federal minister Syed Fakhar Imam. Two years later, parliamentary elections were held on a non-party basis, and Gillani was elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan. In Muhammad Khan Junejo's federal government, Gillani served as Minister for Housing and Works from 1985 to 1988.
Joining the PPP
Following a conflict between Junejo and Gillani, the latter left the PML and joined the PPP, which was led by the late Prime Minister's daughter, Benazir Bhutto. Soon after, in May 1988, Zia-ul-Haq dissolved Junejo's parliament and government and called for new elections. In August of the same year, Zia-ul-Haq died in a plane crash, and the PPP emerged victorious in the elections held in November, with Bhutto becoming Prime Minister. Gillani, who ran for the National Assembly from Punjab, defeated Nawaz Sharif, then the leader of the PML's provincial chapter and Chief Minister of Punjab.
Rise in the PPP
In 1990, Bhutto's government was dissolved by President Ghulam Ishaq Khan over allegations of corruption. In the subsequent elections, Gillani successfully retained his National Assembly seat, this time defeating his own uncle, veteran politician and former federal minister Hamid Raza Gillani. However, the PML and its allies emerged with a majority in parliament, and Nawaz Sharif became Prime Minister.
In the next elections, held in 1993, the PPP again emerged victorious and formed a coalition government under Bhutto. This time, Gillani defeated the PML's Sikander Hayat Bosan in his constituency. During Bhutto's second government (1993-1996), Gillani served as Speaker of the National Assembly. One notable incident during his tenure was his demand for the release of parliamentarians who had been arrested at the behest of his own party members in government. When the Interior Ministry refused to comply, Gillani went public with the issue.
Downfall of Bhutto's Second Government
The second Bhutto government ended badly. In November 1996, it was dismissed by President Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari, himself a member of the PPP. In the February 1997 elections, Bhutto's supporters were trounced by the PML, winning just 17 seats in parliament. Gillani himself lost to Bosan, and the PPP failed to win any National Assembly seats from Punjab. The new Sharif government launched a crackdown on Bhutto and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, who were accused of corruption and money laundering. Bhutto left the country, while Zardari was imprisoned. During this period, in 1998, Gillani was appointed Vice-Chairman of the PPP.
Imprisonment and Aftermath
In 1999, General Pervez Musharraf led a bloodless military coup against the Sharif government and became the new head of state. The new regime launched an anti-corruption campaign to "cleanse" Pakistani politics, which Musharraf's opponents saw as an attempt to eliminate dissent.
In February 2001, Gillani was arrested and charged with misuse of authority during his time as Speaker of the National Assembly. It was alleged that jobs in the Secretariat of the National Assembly had been distributed illegally. A special anti-corruption court established by Musharraf found Gillani guilty, and he spent over five years in prison. Commenting on his conviction, Gillani said that the charges were fabricated to force him to leave the PPP and join the Musharraf regime.
While in prison, Gillani could not participate in the 2002 parliamentary elections. He wrote an autobiography, "Reflections from the Well of Yusuf," while in prison. He was released in 2006.
Rise to Prime Ministership
In 2007, Bhutto and the Musharraf regime negotiated the former Prime Minister's return to the country. On October 6, 2007, the PPP did not oppose Musharraf's victory in the presidential elections, and Bhutto flew back to Pakistan on October 18.
On December 27, 2007, a bomb blast occurred at a rally of Bhutto's supporters in Rawalpindi. The PPP leader was gravely injured and died shortly after. Following her death, her husband Zardari and their son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari became co-chairpersons of the party, as per her will. Zardari arrived in Pakistan from the US and took charge of the PPP, preparing it for the upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled for February. He himself could not run for the National Assembly, as he had not formally registered as a candidate and did not have the required bachelor's degree.
In the elections held on February 18, the PPP emerged as the largest party, followed by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), a faction of the PML loyal to Nawaz Sharif. The latter party became a key ally of the PPP in parliament. Gillani was elected to parliament, defeating his old rival Sikander Hayat Bosan, who was representing the pro-presidential faction of the Muslim League, the PML-Q.
Election as Prime Minister
In the wake of Bhutto's assassination, Zardari had announced that Muhammad Amin Fahim should become Prime Minister if the PPP won the elections. During Bhutto's exile, Fahim had been the PPP's chief organizer in Pakistan and a key mediator between Bhutto and Musharraf. However, he faced competition for the premiership from two other influential PPP figures, Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar.
Gillani, who was still serving as Vice-Chairman of the PPP, did not actively participate in the race for the top government post. Nonetheless, on March 22, he was nominated as the Prime Minister by the ruling coalition. The appointment was seen as related to Zardari's desire to become Prime Minister himself once he was able to get elected to parliament. Gillani, a long-time Bhutto loyalist, could be expected to yield to Zardari more easily than more prominent party figures who had already established rivalries with the party leader. Observers also noted a possible personal affinity between Zardari and Gillani, who had both been incarcerated in the same prison for a time.
One of the key issues facing the new government was the fate of the Supreme Court justices, led by its Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, who had been dismissed and arrested in November 2007. To restore them to their positions would mean an open confrontation with President Musharraf. Sharif, Zardari's erstwhile enemy and now ally, strongly advocated for the judges' reinstatement. Zardari acquiesced, and the coalition's decision was announced on March 9.
On March 24, 2008, Gillani's nomination for premiership was approved by the National Assembly. He received 264 votes, while the PML-Q's candidate Chaudhry Pervez Ilahi received only 42. Addressing the parliamentarians after his election, Gillani announced the release of the judges. He also promised to seek a UN-led international investigation into Bhutto's death. On March 25, President Musharraf formally administered the oath of office to the new Prime Minister.
Personal Life
Yusuf Raza Gillani has four sons and a daughter. In addition to his own clan, he has connections to two other influential families in Punjab.
