Naveed Qamar

Naveed Qamar
Qamar (right) with Abid Suleri
Minister of Defence
In office 4 June 2012 – 16 March 2013
Prime Minister	Yousaf Raza Gillani Raja Pervaiz Ashraf
Preceded by	Ahmad Mukhtar
Succeeded by	Mir Hazar Khan Khoso (Acting)
Minister of Finance
In office 15 May 2008 – 8 October 2008 Acting: 15 May 2008 – 13 September 2008
Prime Minister	Yousaf Raza Gillani
Preceded by	Ishaq Dar
Succeeded by	Shaukat Tarin
In office 28 October 1996 – 5 November 1996
Prime Minister	Benazir Bhutto
Preceded by	Makhdoom Shahabuddin (Acting)
Succeeded by	Shahid Javed Burki (Acting)
Personal details
Born	(1955-09-22) 22 September 1955 Karachi, Pakistan
Political party	Pakistan Peoples Party
Alma mater	University of Manchester Northrop University California State University, Los Angeles
Religion	Islam

Naveed Qamar (Urdu: نوید قمر‎) born Syed Naveed Qamar (Urdu: سیّد نوید قمر‎) on 22 September 1955, is a senior statesman, and formerly tenured as the Defence Minister of Pakistan.^[1] Prior to that, he held the important government portfolio including ministry of finance and the ministry of petroleum and natural resources in the government formerly led by the prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani.^[2]

Serving as the senior high-ranking member of the central committee of the Pakistan Peoples Party, he has been active in the national politics since 1988, starting his career in the government of Prime minister Benazir Bhutto.^[3] From 1993-96, Qamar briefly served in the ministry of privatization in the Benazir Bhutto's government, where he is credited with the success of the privatization program in the country. Before starting his statesmanship, Qamar was a professor of computer science at the University of Computer and Emerging Sciences in Islamabad, where he taught computer-based language programming.^[4]

On 4 June 2012, Gillani announced to appoint Qamar as Defence minister as part of the cabinet shuffle, and was confirmed by the Parliament on the same day, as Ahmad Mukhtar assumed the ministry of water.^[1]

Biography

Background

Qamar was born in Karachi, Sindh Province of West-Pakistan (now Pakistan) on September 22, 1955. His family has a strong political background and his maternal grandfather, Syed Miran Muhammad Shah served as the first speaker of the provisional Sindh assembly after Sindh's accession to Pakistan in 1947. Later, his grandfather joined the Foreign service and first picking up the diplomatic assignment as 1st Ambassador of Pakistan to Spain. His father, Qamar-uz-Zaman Shah actively took participation in politics and was also a deputy speaker of Sindh assembly, and senator during Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's rule.

Qamar is married and has three daughters and a son.^[5] After completing his high school, Qamar went to United Kingdom and entered the Manchester University in 1972. He enrolled in computer science department and earned B.Sc. with First Class Honours in Computer science in 1976.^[6] The same year, He later went to United States to resume his higher studies and entered in the post-graduate school of the Northrop University.^[6] He received MS in Systems management in 1978, followed by MBA from the California State University in 1979.^[6]

Career in national politics

Qamar started his career in national politics in 1988 after contesting in the 1988 general elections on a Pakistan Peoples Party platform.^[7] He was elected as the member of provisional Sindh Assembly where he held the government portfolio as Provincial Minister for Information Government of Sindh from 1988 till 1990.^[7] He successfully defended his constituency during the 1993 general elections with high margins, and won the slot of in the government of Prime minister Benazir Bhutto.^[7] He took oath for his current office on 24 March 2008^[8] after being elected from NA-222 (Tando Muhammad Khan-cum-Hyderabad-cum-Badin) constituency, in the general elections of 2008.^[9]

Qamar is a senior leader of Pakistan Peoples Party. He holds the position of member central executive committee in the party. He has served as federal minister for finance and privatisation in 1996, chairman, privatisation commission in 1993, and provincial minister Sindh for information in 1990. He was previously elected MPA, Sindh (1988-1990), MNA (1990-1993), MNA (1993-1996) and MNA (1997-1999).

For a short time, in 1985, Qamar also served as part of the computer science faculty at National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences, then called BCCI FAST-ICS, in Karachi. He taught the BASIC language to the first batch of students at FAST.

Social sector development

Qamar takes keen interest in Social Sector Development. He is also member of Board of Governors of Pakistan's premier policy think-tank Sustainable Development Policy Institute. He also coined the idea of parliamentarians for new South Asia under civil society organization's campaign Imagine New South Asia.

Academia and professorship

See also

• Privatisation Commission

References