President Asif Ali Zardari was born on July 26, 1955 in a prominent
Baloch family from Sindh. He is the son of veteran politician Mr. Hakim Ali
Zardari. On his maternal side he is the great-grandson of Khan Bahadur
Hassan Ali Effendi, the founder of the first educational institution for
Muslims in Sindh. The founder of Pakistan, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah
was among the prominent students to graduate from the Sindh Madrasa.
Mr Zardari received his primary education at the Karachi Grammar School
and his secondary education at Cadet College Petaro. He pursued
his further education in London where he studied Business.
He was married to Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto in 1987 and was widowed
on December 27, 2007 when Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto was assassinated
in a terrorist attack in Rawalpindi. Ms Bhutto was PPP Chairperson from 1979
until her assassination and was twice elected Prime Minister of Pakistan. They have three children, Bilawal, born in 1988, Bakhtawar, born
in 1990 and Aseefa, born in 1993.
Mr Zardari served as a Member of the National Assembly twice (1990-93 and
1993-96), as Federal Minister for the Environment (1993-1996) and as Federal
Minister for Investment (1995-96). He was the principal architect of the
Benazir Bhutto government's efforts to transform Pakistan's
energy power sector by encouraging major investment opportunities
in power generation. He was also the initiator of the
Iran-Pakistan natural gas pipeline project.
Mr Zardari was elected Senator in 1997 and served in that capacity until
the dissolution of the Senate following the military coup of 1999. He was
elected Co-Chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party in January 2008 following
the assassination of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto.
Mr. Zardari's political career spans two decades spent working closely
with Shaheed Benazir Bhutto. During this period he helped formulate policies
that expanded the freedom of the media, revolutionized telecommunications
and opened Pakistan for foreign direct investment. During Shaheed Mohtarma
Benazir Bhutto's first term in office CNN and BBC were allowed broadcasting
rights in Pakistan and mobile telephone services introduced at Mr Zardari's
initiative. During her second term in office, in addition to the independent
power producers (IPPs) being allowed in, Mr Zardari encouraged
the introduction of FM radio in the private sector.
Mr Zardari was targeted by anti-democratic forces for vilification and
persecution and bore the hardship with fortitude. He spent eleven and a half
years in prison in conditions often unacceptable by human rights standards,
without any charge ever being proven against him. He won election as MNA
and as senator while in prison. Despite many offers from the
government of the time to leave Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) or to
go abroad under a negotiated political exit, he remained committed
to Party goals and continued his fight for justice and the return
of a democratically elected civilian leadership.
Mr. Zardari was asked by the Central Executive Committee (CEC) of the
Pakistan Peoples Party to serve as Chairman of the Party after the
assassination of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto. Although he was elected
unopposed, he nominated his son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari for that role and
instead accepted the job of Co-Chairman of the PPP. After Ms. Bhutto's death
he has remained in the frontlines of shaping a national consensus at the
federal level on the politics of reconciliation initiated by Shaheed
Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto.
Under Mr. Zardari's leadership of the Party, the PPP's candidate for
Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani was elected Prime
Minister of Pakistan unopposed. This was a singular and
unprecedented event in Pakistan's political history.
Mr. Zardari also spearheaded the appointment of Dr. Fehmida Mirza
as the first female Speaker of Pakistan's National Assembly, and
continues to support the empowerment of women and minorities in
all government policy making.
Today, the PPP has coalition governments in all of Pakistan's
four provinces.
Most recently the PPP, under Mr. Zardari's leadership, removed General
(retd) Pervez Musharraf, the unconstitutional President of Pakistan, from
office in a historic move, through a series of complex negotiations and
political diplomacy. Mr. Zardari united Pakistan's major
political parties and this unprecedented act was accomplished
without any violence.
Mr. Zardari was elected President of Pakistan with an overwhelming
majority in the presidential election held on September 6, 2008.
