Farooq Leghari

After the death of Farooq Khan Leghari, his son Jamal Khan Leghari became the 23rd Chief of Leghari tribe.

Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari (29 May 194020 October 2010), was a Pakistani politician who served as the eighth president of Pakistan from 14 November 1993 until resigning on 2 December 1997.

He was the first Baloch to be elected as President.

Born into a Baloch tribal and influential feudal family, Leghari was educated at Aitchison College, the Forman Christian College in Pakistan, and St Catherine's College, Oxford in United Kingdom.

Farooq Leghari was born on 2 May 1940 in Choti Zareen, a village located in Dera Ghazi Khan District, Punjab, British India.

The prefix Sardar, a title of nobility, added before his name that indicated the Tumandar (Chief) of his Leghari Tribe.

Leghari's family was a Baloch of Punjab and known for its wealth.

Many of its members served as hereditary chiefs, and the family has remained active in politics since the British Raj.

His mother was a Pashtun from Mardan district; one of his sisters married the son of the Nawab of Kalabagh.

Leghari was 185 cm tall.

His father, Nawabzada Muhammad Khan Leghari and his grandfather Khan Bahadur Nawab Sir Muhammad Jamal Khan Leghari were progressive leaders who modernised their tribe.

His father took prominent part in the Pakistan Movement and was confined as a political prisoner in 1946.

After the partition of India, his father served as minister in the provincial government of Punjab from 1949 until 1955.

Farooq Leghari was initially schooled at the famed Aitchison College in Lahore where he was the "College Prefect" and "Head Boy" and graduated at top of his class winning the coveted "Rivaz Gold Medal" for the "Best Graduating Student" in 1957.

He went onto attend the Forman Christian College University where he gained BA with Honours in Economics in 1960.

He went to United Kingdom to attend the St Catherine's College, Oxford where he received master's degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE).

Leghari was an avid and competitive sportsman and played tennis, captaining the Aitchison College Tennis team and became a regular on the polo field.

Upon return from the UK, he sat for the Civil Services Exam in 1964 and started his career as a civil servant, remained commissioner sargodha division, prior to getting in to politics in 1973 and tenured as Senator representing the Punjab on the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) platform from 1975 to 1977.

Upon returning to Pakistan, he joined the Central Superior Services (CSS) in 1964 and worked as civil servant in East Pakistan before returning to Pakistan.

In 1973, he resigned from the civil service and joined the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on the invitation of Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.

In 1974, he represented Pakistan as shooter in 7th Asian Games held in Tehran, Iran.

Farooq Leghari was the major landowner in the country and owned approximately 40500 acre of land.

In 1975, he was elected as Senator for Punjab and participated in general elections held in 1977 in the DG Khan constituency.

He contested the 1977 he won the National Assembly Elections on Pakistan People's Party ticket and was appointed Minister for Industries.

He was appointed as Minister of Defence Production and was appointed Secretary-General of the PPP in 1978.

In 1980s, he led demonstrations aimed against President Zia-ul-Haq's administration and successfully ran in general elections held in 1988.

In 1980s, he became known as a leading figure of presiding mass demonstrations against President Zia-ul-Haq's administration and was imprisoned several times by Police.

Leghari participated in general elections held in 1988 in DG Khan's constituency.

He was appointed as Minister for Water and Power under Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

From 1990 to 1993, he worked under Benazir Bhutto as her deputy Leader of the Opposition and participated in the 1993 Pakistani general elections.

His term was abruptly ended by President Ghulam Ishaq Khan after his dismissal of Prime Minister Bhutto and successfully defended his constituency in general elections held in 1990.

He served as Deputy Leader of the Opposition under Benazir Bhutto, serving in opposition against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

His credential and reputation eventually led him to secure a nomination for the presidency by Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and was elected as President in 1993.

However, he began receiving criticism over the controversial appointments of Senior Justices of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and was implicated in Mehran Bank scandal.

In 1993, he witnessed the resignations of President Ghulam Ishaq Khan and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, and joined The Caretaker cabinet of caretaker Prime Minister Moeenuddin Ahmad Qureshi as Finance Minister.

Differences began to emerge with Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto on policy issues in 1995 and he surprisingly dismissed his leader's government in 1996.

His political ambitions later clashed with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his intervention to retain Justice Sajjad Ali Shah as Chief Justice finally led to his resignation in 1997.

He remained active in politics starting his own Political Party "Millat Party" which was party of the "National Alliance" in the 2002 General Elections, the party merged into the PML(Q) in 2004.

He returned to the National Assembly in 2008 Elections.

Leghari died from a long-term heart illness at the Combined Military Hospital in Rawalpindi on 20 October 2010.