Benazir Bhutto

Benazir Bhutto
Name	Benazir Bhutto
Caption	Bhutto in 2004
Office	Prime Minister of Pakistan
Term start	2 December 1988
Term end	6 August 1990
President	Ghulam Ishaq Khan
Predecessor	Muhammad Khan Junejo
Successor	Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi
Term start2	19 October 1993
Term end2	5 November 1996
President2	Farooq Leghari
Predecessor2	Moeenuddin Ahmad Qureshi
Successor2	Malik Meraj Khalid
Office3	Chairwoman of the Pakistan Peoples Party
Term start3	1982
Term end3	2007
Predecessor3	Nusrat Bhutto
Successor3	Bilawal Bhutto Zardari
Birth date	21 June 1953
Birth place	Karachi, Sindh, Dominion of Pakistan
Death date	27 December 2007 (aged 54)
Death place	Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan
Death cause	Assassination
Party	Pakistan Peoples Party
Spouse	Asif Ali Zardari (m. 1987)
Children	Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari, Aseefa Bhutto Zardari
Alma mater	Radcliffe College, Harvard University, Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, University of Oxford
Religion	Islam (Sunni)

Benazir Bhutto was a Pakistani politician who served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990 and again from 1993 to 1996. She was the first woman to head a democratic government in a majority-Muslim nation, leading the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). Her tenure was marked by efforts toward democratization and economic liberalization, though it was also plagued by allegations of corruption and ongoing political turmoil with rivals like Nawaz Sharif.

Early life and education

Born into a prominent political family in Karachi, she was the daughter of former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Begum Nusrat Bhutto. She completed her early education at Convent of Jesus and Mary in Murree and the Karachi Grammar School. For higher studies, she attended Radcliffe College at Harvard University, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in comparative government. She then pursued further studies at the University of Oxford, where she was president of the Oxford Union and completed a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford.

Political career

Her political initiation was hastened by the military coup of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq and the subsequent execution of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1979. She assumed a leadership role in the Pakistan Peoples Party during her family's period of persecution and imprisonment. After years of house arrest and exile, she returned to Pakistan in 1986, leading the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy against the Zia-ul-Haq regime.

Prime Minister of Pakistan

Following the 1988 Pakistani general election, she formed a government with the support of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and independent members of the National Assembly. Her first term focused on social reforms but was dismissed in 1990 by President Ghulam Ishaq Khan using the controversial Eighth Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan. After a term in opposition during Nawaz Sharif's first government, she returned to power after the 1993 Pakistani general election. Her second term emphasized privatization and women's rights but was again dismissed in 1996 by President Farooq Leghari amid corruption scandals and a deteriorating law and order situation in Karachi.

Exile and return

Following her dismissal, she faced numerous legal challenges and left Pakistan in 1999, beginning a self-imposed exile primarily in Dubai and London. During this period, she was convicted in absentia by courts in Pakistan and continued to lead the Pakistan Peoples Party remotely. In 2007, following a reconciliation agreement with President Pervez Musharraf, who granted her amnesty via the National Reconciliation Ordinance, she returned to Karachi in October amid massive public rallies and threats from Islamist militants.

Assassination and legacy

On 27 December 2007, while campaigning for the 2008 Pakistani general election in Rawalpindi, she was killed in a combined suicide attack and gunfire incident. The attack was linked to the Pakistani Taliban and sparked international condemnation, leading to widespread unrest across Pakistan. Her death profoundly impacted the nation's politics, contributing to the Pakistan Peoples Party's victory in the 2008 elections and the subsequent presidency of her widower, Asif Ali Zardari. She remains a potent symbol of women's empowerment and democratic struggle in South Asia.

Personal life and family

In 1987, she married Asif Ali Zardari, a businessman and politician from Karachi, in a ceremony described as a union of political families. They had three children: Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari, and Aseefa Bhutto Zardari. Her son, Bilawal, succeeded her as chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party. The Bhutto family has endured significant tragedy, including the deaths of her father and brothers Murtaza Bhutto and Shahnawaz Bhutto.

Category:Prime Ministers of Pakistan Category:Pakistan Peoples Party politicians Category:Assassinated Pakistani politicians