Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry | |
 |
|
|
|
|
| In office 14 August 1973 – 16 September 1978 |
|
| Preceded by | Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto |
|---|---|
| Succeeded by | Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq |
|
|
|
| Born | 1 January 1904 Gujrat, Punjab, British India |
| Died | June 2, 1982 (aged 78) Lahore, Pakistan |
| Political party | Pakistan Peoples Party |
| Religion | Sunni Islam |
Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry (Urdu: فضل الہی چودھری) (January 1, 1904 - June 2, 1982) was President of Pakistan from August 14, 1973 until his resignation on September 16, 1978.
Contents |
[edit] Early life
Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry was born in Morala village, near the city of Kharian, Gujrat District in Punjab province on January 1, 1904. He received his early education from his hometown and went to Aligarh University and later Punjab University from where he got a law degree, and went into practising law. He did his M. A. in Political Science in 1925 and took his degree of Law from the University of Punjab in 1927. After completing his education, he went back to Gujrat and started practising Law. He took part in the election of Gujrat District Board and was elected unopposed.
[edit] Political career
He joined the Muslim League in 1942. In 1945, he was elected from Gujrat as the President of Muslim League. He took part in the 1946 elections on Muslim League's ticket and played an important role in propagating the ideas of Muslim League among the people of his area. Upon the independence of Pakistan, Chaudhry got involved in the new government, moving up to high ranking positions in the National Assembly.
[edit] Speaker of the National Assembly
After Independence, he was given the post of Parliamentary Secretary. He was later appointed Minister for Education and Health. In 1951, he contested the elections of the Punjab Legislative Assembly on the Muslim League ticket and was elected as a member of the Punjab Assembly. In 1952, he represented Pakistan in the United Nations. In the 1956 elections, he was elected as member of the Assembly and later as the Speaker of the National Assembly. He remained as Speaker till 1958. In 1962, when Ayub Khan announced the elections, he was selected as the Deputy Opposition Leader of the House on the basis of his experience and knowledge about parliamentary proceedings. He joined the Convention Muslim League, and after the 1956 elections, he was elected as the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly.
[edit] President of Pakistan
He was elected as member of the National Assembly in 1970 on the ticket of Pakistan Peoples Party and was later elected as the Speaker of the National Assembly. He ended up joining the Pakistan Peoples Party and was made President in 1973, when the head of the PPP, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was made Prime Minister.
Chaudhry was largely a figurehead (because he was threatened by the unrest created by the political parties and had no choice but to comply with the politicians actions; a feud between the Prime Minister and President would have further weakened the country), and was the first President with less power than the Prime Minister. This was due to the new constitution of 1973 that gave power to the Prime Minister. Previously, the President had been the chief leader of Pakistan, having the power to appoint Prime Ministers.
[edit] Resignation
Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry remained President until 1978, when he resigned after the military took control of the government under General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq. General Zia respected him dearly and came to visit him on his death-bed.
[edit] Death
Chaudhry died on June 2, 1982. His family since then has taken a very active role in politics.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto |
Speaker of National Assembly 15 August 1972 - 07 August 1973 |
Succeeded by Sahibzada Farooq Ali |
| Preceded by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto |
President of Pakistan 14 August 1973 - 16 September 1978 |
Succeeded by Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq |
|
|||||||
