Mamnoon Hussain (Urdu: ممنون حسین; 23 December 1940 – 14 July 2021[1]) was a Pakistani politician and industrialist who served as the 12th president of Pakistan from 2013 to 2018. He was first appointed Governor of Sindh in June 1999 by President Rafiq Tarar; but was removed from the post in October 1999 due to the 1999 military coup d'état.[2][3] Hussain was then nominated for the presidency by the PMLN in July 2013 and was elected through an indirect presidential election.[4][5] Hussain took over the presidency after an oath administered by the Chief Justice of Pakistan on 9 September 2013.[5][6]
Mamnoon Hussain | |
---|---|
ممنون حسین | |
![]() Official portrait, 2013 | |
12th President of Pakistan | |
In office 9 September 2013 – 9 September 2018 | |
Prime Minister | |
Preceded by | Asif Ali Zardari |
Succeeded by | Arif Alvi |
24th Governor of Sindh | |
In office 19 June 1999 – 12 October 1999 | |
President | Rafiq Tarar |
Prime Minister | Nawaz Sharif |
Preceded by | Moinuddin Haider |
Succeeded by | AM Azim Daudpota |
Personal details | |
Born | Agra, United Provinces, British India (Now, Uttar Pradesh, India) | 23 December 1940
Died | 14 July 2021 Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan | (aged 80)
Political party | Pakistan Muslim League (N) |
Spouse | Mehmooda Mamnoon |
Alma mater | Institute of Business Administration, Karachi |
Occupation | |
President Hussain maintained a low-key profile as president and his role was rarely seen in the nation's politics, although he was involved in a Polio eradication program.[7]
Personal life
editMamnoon Hussain was born in Agra, British India in 1940 to Ustad Zafar Hussain. His family's ancestral occupation was in the trade of leather and footwear.[8] They moved to Karachi in 1949.[9][10][11][12] After being homeschooled,[13] Hussain enrolled in the Karachi University where he studied for the Commerce degree. After graduating from the Karachi University in 1963,[14] he entered in the master's program at the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) in Karachi, and obtained his MBA degree in 1965.[15][16]
Initially supporting and strengthening his father's business, he later founded his own textile company in Karachi.[15] He later joined the center-right Pakistan Muslim League in 1970, working as a party worker.[17] In 1997, he earned public notability as a business leader when he was elected as president of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry, serving until May 1999.[18]
Political career
editHussain began to take interest in national politics in 1968 when he became chairman and joined the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) led by Nurul Amin. Initially, an activist with reformist zeal in 1968, Hussain became joint secretary of the Pakistan Muslim League's Karachi chapter.[16] In 1993, he officially joined the PML(N) led by Nawaz Sharif and was appointed the Finance Secretary of the PML(N) in Sindh.[16]
In June 1999, he became the Governor of Sindh, but his term was cut short on 12 October 1999 when the PML(N) government was ousted in a military coup.[16] His credentials as a politician devoted to the cause of democracy were established when he became a political prisoner after raising his voice against the military regime of Pervez Musharraf.[16]
He ran for the National Assembly of Pakistan in the 2002 Pakistani general election from NA-250 Karachi-XII as a candidate of the PML(N), but was unsuccessful. He received 5,565 votes and was defeated by Abdul Sattar Afghani, a candidate of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA).[19]
Azhar Haroon, the former president of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said: "He had no political affiliation until 1999 but his polite discourse and professional ability impressed Nawaz Sharif, who appointed him as the Governor of Sindh".[20] He was a relatively lesser-known figure,[12][21] described as loyal to Nawaz Sharif,[22] and was elected President of Pakistan as the official nominee of the PML-N in the July 2013 presidential election. Hussain secured 432 votes and his only rival Wajihuddin Ahmed received 77.[23] He was sworn in on 9 September 2013 in a ceremony held at Aiwan-e-Sadr, attended by mainstream political and military leadership alongside foreign dignitaries, media personnel and his close relatives.[24][25] At the time of assuming the office of president, he became the second oldest president of Pakistan.[26] His term for the presidency ended on 8 September 2018.[27] He was the second President of Pakistan whose family migrated to Pakistan from India after the Partition of India. He belonged to an ethnic Muhajir Family.[28]
Criticism of his own party
editOn 19 October 2017 while giving a speech at the USTB, Hussain blasted the leadership of his own party saying that the government had taken a loan of PKR 14,800 billion but no new schools or hospitals had been built in the past 4 years. The speech was ignored and not allow to broadcast on mainstream media.[29]
Death
editIn February 2020, Hussain was diagnosed with cancer and was under treatment.[3][30] On 14 July 2021, he died in Karachi, aged 80.[31]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Former president Mamnoon Hussain passes away in Karachi".
- ^ "Profile: Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain". BBC News. 9 September 2013. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
- ^ a b "Former Pakistan president Mamnoon Hussain passes away". The Hindu. PTI. 15 July 2021. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
- ^ Staff report (9 September 2013). "Profile:Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain". BBC Pakistan Bureau, 2013. BBC Pakistan Bureau. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
- ^ a b The Newspaper's Staff Reporter (9 September 2013). "Mamnoon Hussain takes oath today". Islamabad: Dawn News, 2013. Dawn. p. 1. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ Staff report (9 September 2013). "Mamnoon Hussain takes oath as country's 12th president". Pakistan Today. Islamabad. Pakistan Today. Archived from the original on 17 January 2015. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ Rashid, Haroon (3 March 2014). "Mamnoon Hussain: Pakistan's 'invisible' president". BBC News. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
- ^ "Agra relatives mourn former Pakistani president Mamnoon Hussain Qureshi's death". India Today. 15 July 2021.
- ^ "Mamnoon Hussain most likely to replace Zardari". The News. 21 July 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
- ^ Shah, Benazir (31 July 2013). "EXCLUSIVE: Q&A WITH PRESIDENT-ELECT MAMNOON HUSSAIN". Newsweek.
- ^ "Indian-Born Mamnoon Hussain Elected President of Pakistan, After Opposition PPP Boycotts Poll". IB Times. 30 July 1948. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
- ^ a b "Explainer: All You Need To Know About Pakistan's (Indirect) Presidential Election". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 10 November 2014.
- ^ "I have never gone to school, says President Mamnoon – Pakistan". Dawn. Pakistan. 22 December 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
- ^ Zhao, Chen Lee (2 March 2014). "Profile: Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain". Xinhua, Pakistan bureau, 2014. Xinhua, Pakistan bureau. Archived from the original on 19 January 2015. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
- ^ a b Shao, Ming (17 February 2014). "President Mamnoon Hussain". Shanghai Dail, Pakistan Bureau. Shanghai Dail, Pakistan Bureau. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
- ^ a b c d e Govt. Pakistan. "President's Profile". Presidency, Govt of Pakistan. Archived from the original on 31 October 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
- ^ "Mamnoon Hussain: Indian-born president-elect of Pakistan – The Express Tribune". 6 September 2013. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
- ^ Ghumman, Khawar (23 July 2013 ) Mamnoon strongest PML-N candidate. Dawn.
- ^ "NA 250 Karachi XII Detail Election Result 2002". www.electionpakistani.com. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
- ^ "India-born Mamnoon Hussain elected Pakistani president". NDTV.com.
- ^ Nemtsova, Anna (30 July 2013). "Mamnoon Hussain: The New Man in Pakistan". The Daily Beast. Thedailybeast.com.
- ^ Mamnoon Hussain elected President of Pakistan. Gulf News.
- Pakistani Lawmakers Choose Next President. The New York Times, 31 July 2013
- ^ "Mamnoon Hussain elected 12th President of Pakistan". geo.tv. 30 July 2013.
- ^ Mamnoon takes oath as 12th president today. The Nation (Pakistan). 9 September 2013
- ^ "Current Pakistani Officials". Quickjobs.pk. Archived from the original on 24 June 2019. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
- ^ "Mamnoon Hussain becomes president at age of 73.5 years". The News International.
- ^ "President Mamnoon given farewell guard of honour". geo.tv. 8 September 2018.
- ^ "Dr Arif Alvi's father was Jawaharlal Nehru's dentist | Life & Style". Geo.tv. 5 September 2018. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
- ^ "President Mamnoon Hussain blasts PML-N government four years performance in his explosive speech". 19 October 2017.
- ^ "Former President Mamnoon Hussain died in Karachi". Lahore Herald. 14 July 2021.
- ^ "Former president Mamnoon Hussain passes away in Karachi at 80". Dawn. 14 July 2021.