Hamza Shahbaz

His mother, Nusrat Shehbaz, is not only Shehbaz Sharif’s cousin but also his first wife, with their marriage taking place in 1973.

After completing his undergraduate studies at Government College, Hamza continued his education by earning an LLB (Honours) from the London School of Economics.

In his professional life, he is a businessman, often referred to as the ‘Poultry King of Punjab’.

He managed the family business during their period of exile.

It has been suggested that Hamza has been married three times.

Mian Muhammad Hamza Shahbaz (Urdu, Punjabi: ; born 6 September 1974) is a Pakistani politician, businessman, and the eldest son of former Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

He served as the Leader of the Opposition in the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab from September 2018 to April 2022, and resumed this role on 20 October 2022 and continued until the dissolution of the assembly.

He briefly held the position of Chief Minister of Punjab from 30 April 2022 to 2 May 2022.

Hamza, as the eldest of four children, was born to Shehbaz Sharif on September 6, 1974.

Hamza’s involvement in politics started at a young age, which led to his time in Adiala Jail in 1994, along with other leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League.

His formal political career began in October 1999, after his father, Shehbaz Sharif, and uncle, Nawaz Sharif, were sent into exile due to the 1999 Pakistani coup d'état led by Pervez Musharraf.

Hamza was allowed to remain in Pakistan to oversee family businesses.

Prior to this, he was a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from June 2008 to May 2018.

In the 2008 Pakistani general election, he contested for a seat in the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab from the Constituency PP-142 (Lahore-VI).

He received a total of 111 votes and lost the seat to Khawaja Salman Rafique, who was representing the Pakistan Muslim League (N).

After joining the Pakistan Muslim League (N), he contested in the by-elections held in June 2008.

He ran unopposed from Constituency NA-119 (Lahore-II) and was subsequently elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan.

One of these alleged marriages was to Ayesha Ahad Malik in 2010, a claim which Hamza has refuted.

In 2011, it was reported that the PML-N was considering about promoting Hamza to the role of General Secretary for the Punjab chapter.

He initiated his political career as an independent candidate, choosing not to align with his family’s party.

In 2012, he tied the knot with Rabia Hamza.

He successfully retained his seat in the National Assembly from the same constituency during the 2013 Pakistani general election.

By 2016, Hamza had gained significant influence and was informally referred to as the deputy prime minister of Pakistan and the deputy chief minister of Punjab.

His tenure as a member of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab spanned from August 2018 to January 2023.

When he submitted his nomination papers in 2018, he included the details of his two wives, Mehrunissah Hamza and Rabia Hamza.

In the 2018 Pakistani general election, he was elected to the National Assembly for the third time from the Constituency NA-124 (Lahore-II).

Simultaneously, he was elected to the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab as a PML-N candidate from Constituency PP-146 (Lahore-III).

After these successful elections, he chose to give up his National Assembly seat in favour of the Provincial Assembly seat.

On 13 August 2018, PML-N nominated him for the office of Chief Minister of Punjab.

However, on 19 August 2018, he received 159 votes and was defeated by Usman Buzdar, who secured 186 votes.

On 25 August 2018, PML-N nominated Hamza for the office of the opposition leader in the Punjab Assembly.

Subsequently, on 6 September 2018, he was officially appointed as the Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly.

Hamza later contested for the role of Chief Minister of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab.

On 16 April 2022, he was elected to the position, securing 197 votes against his opponent, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, who had previously served as the speaker of the assembly.

However, his tenure as chief minister was abruptly ended following a verdict by a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court, which involved the interpretation of law.

Hamza, who has been serving as the Vice President of the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz since May 2019 under his father Shehbaz Sharif’s leadership, won his fourth term in the National Assembly from Constituency NA-118 in the 2024 Pakistani general election.

During the governance of his father, Shehbaz Sharif, Hamza’s Chief Ministerial tenure was initiated on April 30, 2022.

This occurred subsequent to Hamza’s nomination for the position of Chief Minister of Punjab by opposition parties, following the resignation of Usman Buzdar.

On the same day, he was sworn in as the 19th Chief Minister of Punjab, a position that was later deemed legally invalid.

Hamza held the majority with 11 seats in the ruling alliance, which was composed of three political parties and four independent candidates.