Farooq Leghari

Farooq Leghari
Farooq Leghari
فاروق لغاری
	Leghari in 1995
8th President of Pakistan
	In office; 14 November 1993 – 2 December 1997
Prime Minister	Benazir Bhutto; Malik Meraj Khalid (acting); Nawaz Sharif
Preceded by	Wasim Sajjad (acting)
Succeeded by	Wasim Sajjad (acting)
Minister of Foreign Affairs
	In office; 19 October 1993 – 14 November 1993
Prime Minister	Benazir Bhutto
Preceded by	Abdul Sattar (acting)
Succeeded by	Aseff Ahmad Ali
Minister for Water and Power
	In office; 28 December 1988 – 6 August 1990
Prime Minister	Benazir Bhutto
Preceded by	Wazir Ahmad Jogezai
Succeeded by	Shahzada Muhammad Yousaf
Personal details
Born	Sardar Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari; 29 May 1940; Choti Zareen, Dera Ghazi Khan District, Punjab, British India (now Pakistan)
Died	20 October 2010 (aged 70); Rawalpindi, Pakistan
Resting place	Choti Zareen, Dera Ghazi Khan, Pakistan
Political party	Pakistan Muslim League (Q) (2002–2010)
Other political; affiliations	Millat Party (1997–2002); Pakistan People's Party (1988–1997)
Children	Awais Leghari; Jamal Leghari
Education	Aitchison College; Forman Christian College; St Catherine's College, Oxford

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Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari (Urdu: سردار فاروق احمد خان لغاری; 29 May 1940 – 20 October 2010) was a Pakistani politician who served as the eighth president of Pakistan from 14 November 1993 until resigning on 2 December 1997. He was the first Baloch to be elected as President.

Born into a Baloch tribal and influential feudal family, Leghari was educated at Aitchison College, the Forman Christian College in Pakistan, and St Catherine's College, Oxford in United Kingdom. Upon return from the UK, he sat for the Civil Services Exam in 1964 and started his career as a civil servant, remained commissioner sargodha division, prior to getting in to politics in 1973 and tenured as Senator representing the Punjab on the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) platform from 1975 to 1977. He contested the 1977 he won the National Assembly Elections on Pakistan People's Party ticket and was appointed Minister for Industries. In 1980s, he led demonstrations aimed against President Zia-ul-Haq's administration and successfully ran in general elections held in 1988. From 1990 to 1993, he worked under Benazir Bhutto as her deputy Leader of the Opposition and participated in the 1993 Pakistani general elections.

His credentials and reputation eventually led him to secure a nomination for the presidency by Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and was elected as President in 1993. However, he began receiving criticism over the controversial appointments of Senior Justices of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and was implicated in Mehran Bank scandal. Differences began to emerge with Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto on policy issues in 1995 and he surprisingly dismissed his leader's government in 1996. His political ambitions later clashed with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his intervention to retain Justice Sajjad Ali Shah as Chief Justice finally led to his resignation in 1997. He remained active in politics starting his own Political Party "Millat Party" which was party of the "National Alliance" in the 2002 General Elections, the party merged into the PML(Q) in 2004. He returned to the National Assembly in 2008 Elections. Leghari died from a long-term heart illness at the Combined Military Hospital in Rawalpindi on 20 October 2010.