Ayub Khan

Field Marshal Mohammad Ayub Khan NPk HJ HPk MBE (14 May 1907 – 19 April 1974) was a Pakistani politician and military officer who served as the 2nd president of Pakistan from 1958 until his resignation in 1969. He was the first native commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Army, serving from 1951 to 1958. Khan's presidency started in 1958 when he overthrew President Iskander Mirza in a coup d'état, and ended in 1969 when he resigned amid mass protests and strikes across the country.

Born in the North-West Frontier Province, Khan was educated from the Aligarh Muslim University and trained at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. He fought in the Second World War on the British side against the Imperial Japanese Army. After the Partition of British India in August 1947, he joined the Pakistan Army and was posted in East Bengal. In 1951, he became the first native commander-in-chief, succeeding General Gracey. From 1953 to 1958, he served in the civilian government as Defence and Home Minister and supported President Iskandar Ali Mirza's decision to impose martial law against prime minister Feroz Khan Noon's administration on 7 October 1958. Three weeks later, Ayub Khan seized the presidency in a military coup, the first in the country's history.