Shujaat Hussain

Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain ((born 27 January 1946) is a senior Pakistani politician who previously served as 16th prime minister of Pakistan. Hussain is the party president of the Pakistan Muslim League (Q) since 2003.

Hailing from the business-industrialist Chaudhry family from the Punjab province of Pakistan, Hussain graduated from the FC College University and the Punjab University.

After his graduation, Hussain subsequently joined the family business comprising large numbers of industries, textiles, agricultural farms, sugar and flour mills.

Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain was born on 27 January 1946 in the Gujrat District, Punjab, of former British Indian Empire.

He was born in a Punjabi Jat family belonging to Warraich clan.

His ancestors hailed from rural Gujrat and had no initial political background.

His father Zahoor Elahi was a junior constable in Punjab Police but quit the police service to establish a cotton mill.

His family lost a cotton mill as a result of Indian partition but re-established the mill in Gujrat after the establishment of Pakistan in 1947.

His father first contested in 1954 elections and elected a local union Councillor of the Gujrat District.

After attending public schools in Gujrat, Hussain matriculated, and was accepted at the Forman Christian College University.

In 1962, Hussain attended the Forman Christian College University and graduated with Bachelor of Business Administration in 1965 and pursued an MA in Industrial management in UK.

Upon returning to Pakistan, Hussain joined the family industrial conglomerate comprising industrial units in textiles, sugar, flour milling and agricultural farms in 1969.

By this time, Hussain's family had become a potent industrial oligarchs and had significant influence on presidents Ayub Khan and General Yahya Khan.

Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain entered in the national politics after the assassination of his father.

After participating in a local-body elections, Hussain became a Member of the Parliament in 1981 and, subsequently joining the Punjab government's Financial department.

He successfully contested in the non-partisan 1985 elections and was appointed as minister of industry in the government of Prime minister Muhammad Junejo, lasting until 1988.

He participated and campaign successfully in non-partisan 1985 general elections and maintains ties with PML.

His contest in the general election from Gujrat included for both seats for the National Assembly and provincial Punjab Assembly.

After the elections he vacated his Punjab Assembly seat in favour of the National Assembly seat.

He became a crucial power broker in the Islamist regime Zia-ul-Haq.

Hussain benefited with general Zia's economic policies.

Hussain invested in industrial firms and mills.

Bought Stocks at Karachi Stock Exchange, which benefited him.

After participating in 1985 general elections, Hussain joined the government of Prime Minister Muhammad Khan Junejo as the minister of the Ministry of Industry, and held additional ministerial portfolio of Ministry of Information and Mass-media Broadcasting in 1986; and Ministry of Defence Production in 1987–88.

Hussain became a leader and influential conservative figure in the Islamic Democratic Alliance (IDA) between 1988 and 1990 and joined the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) under Nawaz Sharif in 1993.

Hussain was the leading member of right-wing alliance, the Islamic Democratic Alliance (IDA) and won parliamentary seat during 1988 general elections, and headed the Parliamentary Party of Joint Opposition (PPJO) in the National Assembly from 1988 to 1990.

He also acted as the parliamentary party leader of the Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML-N) in the National Assembly.

Hussain served as the 26th Interior minister in the government of Prime minister Nawaz Sharif in two non-consecutive terms from 1990 to 1993 and 1997 to 1999.

After 1990 elections and 1997 elections, Chaudhry Shujaat served as Interior ministry.

He was imprisoned during second tenure of Bhutto in 1994 in politically-motivated cases filed by Federal Investigation Agency DG Rehman Malik.

He was one of high-profile cabinet member of Prime minister Nawaz Sharif who appointed Shujaat as the President of the PML-N in Punjab from 1997 to 1999.

However, Hussain mounted serious disagreement and confronted Nawaz Sharif after Sharif imposing economic emergency in 1998.

Hussain's relations became extremely hostile during the Kargil war, claiming that Sharif had been briefed by chief of army staff general Pervez Musharraf six times as opposed to Sharif claiming not having "knowledge".

After the coup, Hussain did not join the Pakistan Muslim League, a splinter group of PML.

Originally a loyalist of Nawaz Sharif, Hussain defected to autocratic leader Pervez Musharraf after 1999 and became member of the new PML-Q.

In 2001, Hussain decided to defect to PML after Sharif was exiled to Saudi Arabia in 2000 and contested from Gujrat through the PML platform during the 2002 general elections.

Initially, Hussain became parliamentary party leader in the National Assembly, but assumed the presidency of the party when the party's founder Mian Muhammad Azhar resigned from the party.

His family remains influential in national politics and his younger cousin Pervez Illahi served as Chief Minister of Punjab from 2002 to 2007 during Musharraf's military rule.

In January 2003, Shujaat was nominated and assumed the party's presidency after succeeding Mian Muhammad Azhar on a party convention.

Following the 2008 elections and Musharraf's resignation, Hussain and his party became a major ally of Prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani and President Asif Ali Zardari from the Pakistan Peoples Party.