Nawaz Sharif

Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who thrice served as the prime minister of Pakistan, from 1990 to 1993, from 1997 to 1999 and later from 2013 to 2017. He is the longest-serving prime minister in the country's history, having served a total of more than 9 years across three tenures, with each term ending in his ousting. He has also served twice as the chief minister of Punjab and has held several ministerial positions at the provincial and federal levels, as well as the leader of the opposition. He remains a prominent figure in Pakistani politics and is a leading member of the Pakistan Muslim League (N).

Born into the Sharif family in Lahore, Punjab, Nawaz is the son of businessman Muhammad Sharif, the founder of Ittefaq and Sharif groups. Nawaz studied business at Government College and law at the University of Punjab. Nawaz entered into politics in 1981, when he was appointed by President Zia as the minister of finance for the province of Punjab. Backed by a loose coalition of conservatives, Nawaz was elected as the chief minister of Punjab in 1985 and re-elected after the end of martial law in 1988.

Before the 1990 election, Nawaz was appointed as the head of the conservative Islami Jamhuri Ittihad, founded by Lt General Hamid Gul, and became the 12th prime minister of Pakistan with the help of Generals Mirza Aslam Beg, Asad Durrani, and drug barons such as Haji Ayub Afridi. After being ousted in 1993, when President Ghulam Ishaq Khan dissolved the National Assembly, Nawaz served as the leader of the opposition to the government of Benazir Bhutto from 1993 to 1996. He returned to the premiership after the Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML-N) was elected in 1997, and served until his removal in 1999 by military takeover by General Pervez Musharraf. Imprisoned and subject to trial after the coup, Sharif avoided the death penalty as a result of pressure from US president Bill Clinton. He struck a deal with the military establishment, which was brokered by King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, and went into exile for a period of ten years. In 2007, he violated the agreement and attempted to return but was deported.