Fazal Elahi | |
|---|---|
فضل الٰہی | |
 Official portrait,c. 1973 | |
| 5th President of Pakistan | |
| In office 14 August 1973 – 16 September 1978 | |
| Prime Minister | Zulfikar Ali Bhutto |
| Preceded by | Zulfikar Ali Bhutto |
| Succeeded by | Zia-ul-Haq |
| 8th Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan | |
| In office 15 August 1972 – 13 August 1973 | |
| Deputy | Mohammad Haneef Khan |
| Preceded by | Zulfikar Ali Bhutto |
| Succeeded by | Sahibzada Farooq Ali |
| 6th Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan | |
| In office 12 January 1965 – 25 March 1969 | |
| Preceded by | Mohammad Afzal Cheema |
| Succeeded by | A. T. M. Abdul Mateen |
| Speaker of the Provincial Assembly of West Pakistan | |
| In office 20 May 1956 – 7 October 1958 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Mubin-ul-Haq Siddiqui |
| Member of theNational Assembly of Pakistan | |
| In office 14 April 1972 – 13 August 1973 | |
| Constituency | NW-36 (Gujrat-II) |
| In office 12 June 1965 – 25 March 1969 | |
| Constituency | NW-24 (Gujrat-I) |
| In office 8 June 1962 – 7 June 1965 | |
| Constituency | NW-24 (Gujrat-II) |
| Member of theProvincial Assembly of West Pakistan | |
| In office 19 May 1956 – 7 October 1958 | |
| Constituency | Gujrat |
| Member of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab | |
| In office 7 May 1951 – 14 October 1955 | |
| Constituency | Gujrat-VII |
| In office 15 August 1947 – 25 January 1949 | |
| Constituency | Gujrat-VII |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1904-01-01)1 January 1904 |
| Died | 2 June 1982(1982-06-02) (aged 78) |
| Party | PPP (1969–1978) |
| Other political affiliations | AIML (1942–1947) ML (1947–1958) CML (1962–1969) |
| Alma mater | |
Fazal Elahi Chaudhry[a] (1 January 1904 – 1 June 1982) was a Pakistani barrister, politician and statesman who served as the fifthpresident of Pakistan from 1973 until his resignation in 1978, due toZia-ul-Haq'smartial law following the1977 coup d'état which overthrewZulfikar Ali Bhutto's government. He was the first legislatively-elected president in the country's history, serving as a constitutionalfigurehead.[1]
Born inKharian, Punjab, Chaudhry received his higher education at theAligarh Muslim University and theUniversity of the Punjab. He established hislaw firm inLahore and further practisedcivil law. Entering early district-level administration in 1930, he was elected to the Gujrat District Board, unopposed. In 1942, he joined theAll-India Muslim League and was elected the party president within thePunjab Muslim League forGujrat District. He became active in thePakistan Movement and took part in the1946 Indian provincial elections inPunjab.
Following Pakistan's independence, Chaudhry was appointed theparliamentary secretary and later theeducation andhealth minister within thecentral cabinet in 1951. He was elected to theWest Punjab Assembly from Gujrat District in the1951 provincial election; and representedPakistan in the United Nations in 1952. Being elected to theWest Pakistan Assembly in 1956, Chaudhry served as its speaker until the1958 coup d'état when the legislature was suspended. He joined theConvention Muslim League and was elected in the1965 election to theNational Assembly, serving as the legislature'sdeputy speaker until 1969 whenYahya Khan declared martial law andsuspended the 1962 constitution. Chaudhry joined thePakistan Peoples Party and contested the1970 election, being elected once again to the National Assembly and later getting elected as itsspeaker in 1972.
Under the1973 constitution, Chaudhry contested the1973 presidential election as a candidate of the Peoples Party against the opposition coalition's contestantKhan Amirzadah Khan of theNational Awami Party (Wali); which he won with an absoluteelectoral college majority. He was sworn in as the president on 14 August 1973, becoming the firstethnic Punjabi to hold the office. He succeededZulfikar Ali Bhutto as president, who was sworn in as theprime minister. He served as a figurehead as the presidency, under the newly-promulgated constitution, had become a ceremonial position with executive authority being vested in the prime minister's position. With the success of the 1977 coup d'état, the Bhutto-led federal government, alongside allprovincial governments, was overthrown by Zia-ul-Haq, who assumed the position ofchief martial law administrator; but Chaudhry continued his presidency with no influence overgovernmental,military and national affairs. Due to contentious relations with theZia-led military government, he resigned from the presidency in September 1978, which was then assumed by Zia-ul-Haq.
Establishing himself from district-level administration tonational politics andinternational diplomacy, Chaudhry remained a well-respected politician and legislator throughout hispolitical career; and played his constitutionally nominal role as president. He died in June 1982 in Lahore at the age of 78.
Fazal Elahi Chaudhry was born on 1 January 1904 into an influentialPunjabi family ofMuslim Gujjars[2][3] in the village ofMarala in theKharian Tehsil ofGujrat District,Punjab.
After receiving his early education fromKharian, Chaudhry joined the prestigiousAligarh Muslim University in 1920 and moved to theUnited Provinces,[4] receiving hisLLB incivil law in 1924. Thereafter, Chaudhry returned to Punjab, settling in the capitalLahore, and attended theUniversity of the Punjab's post-graduate school in law andpolitical science. In 1925, Chaudhry obtained hisMA in political science in 1925, and the advancedLLM in Law and Justice, in 1927.
After completing his education, Chaudhry established his law firm in Lahore, advocating for civil liberties, and went back toGujrat, and started practising civil law.
In 1930, Chaudhry started taking interest in politics and participated in the1930 Indian general election for the Gujrat District Board and was elected unopposed.[5] He joined theMuslim League in 1942. In 1945, he was elected from Gujrat as the President of Muslim League. He took part in the1946 Indian provincial elections on Muslim League's ticket and played an important role in propagating the ideas of the Muslim League among the people of his area. Upon theindependence of Pakistan, he was given the post of Parliamentary Secretary, and was included inLiaquat Ali Khan's cabinet, serving as theeducation andhealth minister.
He further joinedPakistan permanent representative's delegation to the United Nations in 1951.[6] In 1951, he contested the elections of the Punjab Legislative Assembly on the Muslim League ticket and was elected as a member of the Punjab Assembly. In 1952, he represented Pakistan in the United Nations.
In the 1956 elections, he was elected as member of the West Pakistan Assembly. Chaudhry served as the firstSpeaker of the West Pakistan Legislative Assembly from 20 May 1956 to 7 October 1958. In 1962, when Ayub Khan announced the elections, he was selected as the Deputy Opposition Leader of the House on the basis of his experience and knowledge about parliamentary proceedings. Chaudhry joined theConvention Muslim League, and after the1965 presidential election, he was elected as theDeputy Speaker of the National Assembly, a role he served in till 1969.[7]
He was elected as member of theNational Assembly in 1970 on the ticket of thePakistan Peoples Party, and was later elected as theSpeaker of the National Assembly in 1972.[8] He ended up joining the Pakistan Peoples Party.
He contested the Presidential Elections of 1973 againstKhan Amirzadah Khan ofNAP and all opposition parties, and was elected president in 1973 (receiving 139 votes against Khan's 45),[9] when the head of the PPP,Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was madeprime minister. He was the firstethnic Punjabi president of the country.
Chaudhry was largely afigurehead, and was the first Pakistani President with less power than the Prime Minister.[1][10][11] This was due to the newconstitution of 1973 that gave more powers to the Prime Minister. Previously, the President had been the chief executive of Pakistan and had the power to appointPrime Minister. AfterOperation Fair Play - a codename of the operation to remove Zulfikar Ali Bhutto from power - Chaudhry continued his presidency but had no influence in thegovernment operations or themilitary andnational affairs.
After contentious relations with themilitary, Chaudhry decided to resign from his post[5] despite the urging of theChief of Army Staff andChairman ofJoint Chiefs of Staff. On 16 September 1978, Chaudhry handed the charge of thepresidency to ruling military generalZia-ul-Haq who succeeded him as the sixth president, in addition to being theChief Martial Law Administrator and theChief of Army Staff.
Chaudhry died of a heart ailment on 1 June 1982 at the age of 78 inLahore, Punjab.[12][5]
Ilahi, Chaudhry Fazal Illahi (1904-1982). Chaudhry Fazal Ilahi was born into a Gujjar family of Gujrat district.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Speaker of the National Assembly 1972–1973 | Succeeded by |
| President of Pakistan 1973–1978 | Succeeded by | |
| Postholders |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Elections | ||
Italics indicate acting Presidents | ||
