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The office of thechief martial law administrator (CMLA) was a senior and authoritative post created in countries such asPakistan,Bangladesh andIndonesia that gave considerable executive authority and powers to the holder of the post to enforcemartial law in the country in events to ensure the continuity of government. This office has been used mostly by military officers staging acoup d'état. On some occasions, the office has been under a civilian head of state.
Some famous holders of this post in Pakistan include:
| No. | Portrait | Name (birth–death) | Term of office | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||
| 1 |  | Ayub Khan (1907–1974) | 27 October 1958 | 8 June 1962 | 3 years, 224 days | Field MarshalAyub Khan held the post under PresidentIskandar Ali Mirza. |
| 2 | Bakhtiar Rana (1910–1999) | – | Lt. Gen.Bakhtiar Rana: held the post of Chief Martial Law AdministratorWest Pakistan | |||
| 3 | .jpg) | Yahya Khan (1917–1980) | 25 March 1969 | 20 December 1971 | 2 years, 270 days | GeneralYahya Khan held the post simultaneously as thePresident of Pakistan. |
| 4 |  | Tikka Khan (1915–2002) | 1969 | 1971 | 1–2 years | Lt. Gen.Tikka Khan was appointed Chief Martial Law Administrator ofWest Pakistan in 1969 and ofEast Pakistan in 1971 by Yahya Khan. |
| 5 |  | A. A. K. Niazi (1915– 2004) | 1971 | – | 0 years | Lt. Gen.A. A. K. Niazi was appointed Chief Martial Law Administrator ofEast Pakistan in 1971 by Yahya Khan. |
| 6 | .jpg) | Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (1928– 1979) | 20 December 1971 | 14 August 1973 | 1 year, 237 days | Zulfikar Ali Bhutto became the first civilian to hold this post in Pakistan after thesecession of East Pakistan. |
| 7 |  | Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq (1924–1988) | 16 September 1978 | 17 August 1988 | 10 years, 123 days | GeneralMuhammad Zia-ul-Haq held this office under PresidentFazal Ilahi Chaudhry after overthrowing Prime MinisterBhutto. |
| 8 |  | Pervez Musharraf (1943–2023) | 1999 | 2002 | 2–3 years | GeneralPervez Musharraf held this office under PresidentMuhammad Rafiq Tarar, although it was styled as "Chief Executive of Pakistan"[1] |
Some famous holders of this post in Bangladesh include:
In Indonesia, this post was briefly held by army chiefSuharto, who seized power in1966 and forced PresidentSukarno to resign in1967. Sukarno had also enforced martial law during his tenure asPresident of Indonesia.