PRIME MINISTER OF PAKISTAN

Yousaf Raza Gilani was born on June 9, 1952 in Karachi is the 17th and current Prime Minister of Pakistan and Vice-Chairman of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).

He was nominated as Prime Minister by the PPP, with the support of its coalition partners, Pakistan Muslim League (N), Awami National Party, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement, on 22 March 2008. He took the oath of office from President Pervez Musharraf on 25 March 2008.

Family and Education

He belongs to an influential political family from Multan. His father was a descendant of Syed Musa Pak, a spiritual figure of the Qadiri Sufism order which traces its origins to Abdul-Qadir Gilani. Yousaf Raza's grandfather comes from Paktia Province, Afghanistan. Gilani did his intermediate from Forman Christian College. He attended Government College and obtained his B.A and M.A. in Journalism from University of the Punjab. Gilani is married and has four sons and one daughter.

Political Career

Gilani's political journey began during General Zia-ul-Haq's martial law in 1978. He joined the Central Working Committee of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML). He was also a cabinet member in the three-year government of Prime Minister Muhammad Khan Junejo and served as Minister of Housing and Works from April 1985 to January 1986 and as Railways Minister from January 1986 to December 1986.

After a short stint with the Muslim League, Gilani joined the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in 1988. In the Benazir Bhutto government of 1988-1990, he was Minister of Tourism from March 1989 to January 1990 and Minister of Housing and Works from January 1990 to August 1990. Later, under another Bhutto government, he became Speaker of the National Assembly in October 1993, serving in that post until February 1997.

He has been elected various times as the Member of National Assembly from Multan. In the 2008 general election, he beat Pakistan Muslim League (Q) (PML-Q) leader Sikandar Hayat Bosan.

Premiership

Prime Minister. PPP completed consultations with coalition partners about the Prime Minister and its allies endorsed the nomination. The formal announcement of the name of Prime Minister was expected to be made that night.

On 22 March at 9:38 PM Islamabad, he was officially announced by PPP as its candidate for the premiership of the country.

On 24 March 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. He was sworn in by Musharraf on the next day. On 29 March, he won a unanimous vote of confidence in Parliament.

The first part of Gilani's Cabinet was sworn in on 31 March. 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 were expected to follow.

On 13 May 2008, the PML (N) ministers resigned from Gilani's government due to a disagreement related to the reinstatement of judges whom Musharraf removed from office in 2007. Zardari, hoping to preserve the coalition, told Gilani to reject the resignations.

First Public Speech as Prime Minister

On 19 July 2008 at 11:06 P.M. (Pakistan Standard Time), Gilani appeared on Pakistan Television (PTV) in his first address to the nation. The main points in his address were focused on the crisis of flour shortage, load-shedding, terrorism and extremism, restoration of judges, economic downslide and, above all, inflation and unemployment in the country.The speech was a disaster as a result of which prime minister looked confused on account of mismanagement by his staff.

Gilani's Role in Chief Justice Restoration

During the political crisis of March 2009, Prime Minister Gilani is credited with playing a central role in convincing the President Asif Ali Zardari to restore Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. This according to some analysts, has strengthened his role as Prime Minister.