Yusuf Raza Gilani

Yousaf Raza Gilani (born 9 June 1952) is a Pakistani politician who served as the 16th Prime Minister of Pakistan from 2008 to 2012. He is currently the Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan, a position he has held since 2024. He belongs to the Pakistan People's Party. Gilani remains the first and only ethnic Saraiki Prime Minister of the country.

Born in Multan, Gilani studied political journalism from the Government College University and University of the Punjab in Lahore. In 1978, he joined the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) and worked in the government of President Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq. Gilani resigned from the Muslim League in 1986 and subsequently joined the PPP in 1988. He served in the cabinet of Benazir Bhutto as the Minister of Tourism in 1989–1990, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development in 1990–1993 and Speaker of the National Assembly in 1993–1997. Gilani was arrested in 2001 on accusations of corruption by military president Pervez Musharraf and was imprisoned for around six years at the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi.

After the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in 2007, Gilani was elected prime minister in the 2008 general elections by the Central Executive Committee of the People's Party. Upon inauguration, he strengthened parliamentary democracy and began an impeachment motion against Musharraf, which prompted the latter to abscond from the country. Furthermore, Gilani initiated ineffective foreign policies, nationalisation programmes and founded the University of Swat in July 2010. He is commonly credited with ending the judicial crisis in March 2009 and improving nuclear energy projects throughout the country. In June 2012, Gilani was disqualified by the Supreme Court of Pakistan on corruption allegations. He briefly exiled from national politics until April 2017, when his disqualification term ended. He was the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate of Pakistan from 2021 to 2022.

Chairman Gilani served as the acting president of Pakistan from 20 May 2024 till 30 May 2024, this was during the period President Asif Ali Zardari remained abroad. Gilani is a veteran of Pakistan People's Party, and is currently serving as the vice-chairman of the party's Central Executive Committee, and in 2021 was elected as a Senator and his term ended when he took oath as a Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan on 29 February 2024 and vacated the seat on 22 March 2024.