Yousaf Raza Gillani
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| Yousaf Raza Gilani يوسف رضا گیلانى |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 25 March 2008 |
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| President | Pervez Musharraf |
| Preceded by | Muhammad Mian Soomro |
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| In office 17 October 1993 – 16 February 1997 |
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| Preceded by | Gohar Ayub Khan |
| Succeeded by | Elahi Bux Soomro |
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Vice Chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 1998 Serving with Makhdoom Amin Fahim |
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| Born | 9 June 1952 Karachi, Pakistan |
| Political party | PPP |
| Spouse | Elahi Gilani [1] |
| Residence | Multan, Pakistan |
| Religion | Islam |
Syed Makhdoom Yousaf Raza Gillani (Urdu: مخدوم سيد يوسف رضا گیلانى ) (born June 9, 1952) is the twenty-sixth and current Prime Minister of Pakistan. He was a former Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan (1993-1997) and former Federal Minister (1985-1986).
He was nominated by Pakistan Peoples Party, with the support of coalition partners, Pakistan Muslim League (N), Awami National Party, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement on 22 March 2008.[2] He took the oath of office from President Pervez Musharraf on 25 March 2008.[3] Yousaf Raza Gilani is the first elected Prime Minister of Pakistan from the Saraiki-speaking belt.[4]
Gilani is also the present vice chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party.
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[edit] Family and education
Born on June 9, 1952 in Karachi, Pakistan, Syed Makhdoom Yousuf Raza Gilani belongs to an influential and renowned political family of Multan. His father was a descendant of Syed Musa Pak, a spiritual figure of the Qadiri Sufi order which traces its orgins to Abdul-Qadir Gilani of Gilan province of Iran. Gilani is married and has four sons and one daughter, Fiza Gilani and one grandson [5]. The eldest son of Yousaf Raza Gilani, Syed Makhdoom Abdul Qadir Gilani, married the grand-daughter of Pir Pagara, an influential political figure of Sindh, on March 25, 2008.
Gilani received early education at St. Mary's School and La Salle High School at Multan. He graduated with BA in 1970 and MA in Journalism from University of the Punjab in 1976.[6]
[edit] Political career
Yousuf Raza Gilani began his political journey from the platform of Pakistan Muslim League (PML) during General Zia-ul-Haq's martial law in 1978. He joined the Muslim League's Central Working Committee. He was also a cabinet member in the three-year government of Prime Minister Muhammad Khan Junejo. He served as Minister of Housing and Works from April 1985 to January 1986 and Railways Minister from January 1986 to December 1986.
After a short stint with the Muslim League, Gilani become part of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in 1988 and has since remained PPP's loyal and steadfast supporter. In the Benazir Bhutto government of 1988-1990, Gilani was again a cabinet minister: He was Minister of Tourism from March 1989 to January 1990 and again served as Minister of Housing and Works from January 1990 to August 1990.
In the Benazir Bhutto government of 1993-1996, Gilani was elected the Speaker of National Assembly of Pakistan, remaining that post until February 1997.
He has been elected various times as Member of National Assembly from Multan. In the 2008 general election, he beat Pakistan Muslim League (Q) (PML-Q) leader Sikandar Hayat Bosan.
[edit] Imprisonment
Yousaf Raza Gilani was arrested on February 11, 2001 under the auspices of National Accountability Bureau (NAB), the government's anti-corruption agency set up by the military government in 1999, over charges of the misuse of his authority while he was Speaker of the National Assembly. Specifically, he was accused of hiring up to 600 people from his constituency on government payroll.[7] NAB claimed that Gilani inflicted a loss of Rs 30 million annually on the national exchequer.[8] He was convicted by an anti-corruption court formed by President Pervez Musharraf and spent nearly six years in prison.[9]
The legal proceedings were perceived by many as politically motivated -- his party, the PPP, was in opposition to President Musharraf, who had embarked on a campaign to coerce party members to switch sides. Thus his conviction by Musharraf backed courts and subsequent prison sentence is seen as a mark of loyalty within the PPP. His imprisonment was widely condemned by various people across the country including Syed Mushahid Hussain who is a senior leader of PML-Q.[citation needed] He was finally released on October 7, 2006 from Adiala Jail, after spending more than five years in prison. He subsequently denied that the release was part of any deal between PPP and the military government, as the original sentence ran for 10-year imprisonment.[10]
[edit] Premiership
On March 22, 2008, the PPP nominated Gilani for the post of Prime Minister. PPP completed consultations with coalition partners about the Prime Minister and the allies endorsed the nomination. The formal announcement of the name of Prime Minister was expected to be made that night.
On March 22 at 9:38 pm Islamabad, (1638 GMT), he was officially announced by PPP as its candidate for the premiership of the country. There is widespread speculation that he will be a "stand-in" for Asif Ali Zardari, widower of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Zardari does not hold a seat in Parliament and must win a by-election before it would be possible for him to become Prime Minister.[11]
The question now is how long Gilani will remain Prime Minister. Many analysts said that they would not be surprised if Zardari takes over the reins in a few months. It was reported on March 24, 2008, that Zardari said he is not interested in the job of Prime Minister and that Gilani will serve until 2013 in the position. Speculation that Zardari may be gunning for the premiership grew stronger when he picked the less popular Gilani over Makhdoom Amin Fahim, president of the PPP. Fahmida Mirza, the newly-elected speaker of the assembly, insists there is no plan to replace Gilani. She added, however, that if Gilani did not do a good job, all options are open.[12]
On March 24, 2008, Gilani was elected as Prime Minister by Parliament, defeating his rival, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi of the PML-Q, by a score of 264 to 42.[13] He was sworn in by Musharraf on the next day.[3] On March 29, he won a unanimous vote of confidence in Parliament.[14]
On the same day, following the vote of confidence, Gillani announced the programme for the first 100 days of his administration. Some of the points he announced were:
- Frontier Crimes Regulations and Industrial Relations Order repealed
- A “truth and reconciliation commission” proposed
- PM House budget cut by 40 per cent
- Special counters at airports for parliamentarians to be removed
- No money to be spent on the renovation of government buildings and residences
- A freedom of information law to be framed, while PEMRA will be made a subsidiary of the information ministry
- Talks will be initiated with extremists who lay down arms and ‘adopt the path of peace’
- A new package for tribal areas promised
- Employment commission to be set up
- Madressah authority to implement a uniform curriculum
- One million housing units to be built annually for low-income groups
- Irrigation channels to be bricklined.
- A lifting of the bans on elected workers' and students' unions.[15]
The first part of Gillani's Cabinet was sworn in on March 31. Of the 24 ministers sworn in on this occasion, 11 were members of the PPP, nine were members of the Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML-N), two were members of the Awami National Party, one was from Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, and one came from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. Other appointments are expected to follow.[16]
On May 13, 2008, the PML (N) ministers resigned from Gillani's government due to a disagreement related to the reinstatement of judges who were removed from office by Musharraf in 2007. Zardari, hoping to preserve the coalition, told Gillani to reject the resignations.[17]
[edit] First public appearance as Prime Minister
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani started his public life as Prime Minister by paying tribute to his leader and founder of the Party Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and attended the ceremony organized to release a documentary film on the life of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto which made by the famous television journalist, Javed Malik. [18]
In 2008, Nawaz Sharif appointed many of his friends and relatives as ministers in the Gillani's federal cabinet which was protested by his political opponenets and media as nepotism. This has also perplexed and confused their political partners including PPP.[19]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ http://pakistaniat.com/2008/03/24/profile-yousuf-raza-gllani-pakistan/comment-page-1/
- ^ PPP names choice for Pakistani PM BBC News, March 22, 2008
- ^ a b "U.S. diplomats court new Pakistani leaders", International Herald Tribune, March 25, 2008.
- ^ 'PML-Q faces defections in Seraiki belt' The News
- ^ 'Would-be premier: a profile' Dawn, March 23, 2008
- ^ Adnan Lodhi. ‘New PM was not interested in student politics’ Daily Times, March 25, 2008
- ^ Jane Perlez. 'Pakistani Party’s Leader Chooses a Prime Minister' The New York Times. March 22,2008
- ^ Muhammad Najeeb. 'Top PPP leader held for graft' Tribune India, February 12, 2001
- ^ 'Gilani convicted to 5-year RI' Dawn Newspaper, June 8, 2002
- ^ Naveed Siddiqui. 'Release not part of deal: Gilani' The Nation, October 7, 2006
- ^ Bhutto's party names Pakistani PM candidate MSNBC, March 22, 2008
- ^ Bhutto's Former Bhutto aide expected to be new Pakistan prime minister CNN, March 24, 2008
- ^ "Pakistan assembly elects new PM", Al Jazeera, March 24, 2008.
- ^ "Pakistan PM gets vote of confidence", Al Jazeera, March 29, 2008.
- ^ Gilani wins unanimous trust vote: •Student, trade unions restored •Minimum wage fixed at Rs6,000 •Concurrent List to go •Wheat support price raised •Ministers restricted to 1600cc cars -DAWN - Top Stories; March 30, 2008
- ^ "24 members cabinet sworn in", onlinenews.com.pk.
- ^ "Pakistan's Zardari rejects ally's resignations", Reuters (International Herald Tribune), May 16, 2008.
- ^ Pakistan Times | Top Story: Gilani Pledges: Govt’s Motto to Serve People
- ^ PPP is confused as Nawaz honours friends and family Jang 30 March 2008
[edit] External links
- Website devoted to Yousuf Raza Gilani
- Poem on Yusuf Raza Gilani
- Poem on Yusuf Raza Gilani And Parvaiz Musharraf on YouTube. (Vedio Clip).
- BBC News -- Profile: Yusuf Raza Gilani
- Daily Times Yousaf Raza Gilani – a profile
- Dawn Newspaper - Yousaf Raza Gilani's profile
- Yousaf Raza Gilani Will Be Next prime Minister
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Gohar Ayub Khan |
Speaker of National Assembly 1993 – 1997 |
Succeeded by Elahi Bux Soomro |
| Preceded by Muhammad Mian Soomro |
Prime Minister of Pakistan 2008 – present |
Incumbent |
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