Shehbaz Sharif

Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif (born 23 September 1951) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who has served as the 20th prime minister of Pakistan since March 2024, having previously been in the role between April 2022 to August 2023. He has also served as the president of the Pakistan Muslim League (N) and chief minister of Punjab three times, making him the longest-serving person in the role.

Sharif was elected to the Punjab Assembly in 1988 and to the National Assembly of Pakistan in 1990. He was re-elected to the Punjab Assembly in 1993 and appointed leader of the opposition. He was elected as chief minister of Pakistan's most populous province, Punjab, for the first time on 20 February 1997. After the 1999 Pakistani coup d'état, Sharif, along with his family, spent years of self-exile in Saudi Arabia, returning to Pakistan in 2007. Sharif was appointed chief minister for a second term after the PML(N)'s victory in Punjab in the 2008 Pakistani general election. He was elected as chief minister of Punjab for the third time after the 2013 Punjab provincial election and served his term until his party's defeat in the 2018 Punjab provincial election. Sharif was nominated as the president of the PML(N) after his brother, Nawaz Sharif, was disqualified from holding office in the wake of the Panama Papers case.

He was nominated as the leader of the opposition after the 2018 general election, and elected prime minister in 2022 after the no-confidence motion against Imran Khan was passed in the National Assembly. After the PML(N) won a minority in the 2024 general election, Sharif became prime minister with a coalition government.

Sharif was born on 23 September 1951 in Lahore, West Punjab. His family is Punjabi with Kashmiri ancestry. Sharif's father, Mian Muhammad Sharif, was an upper-middle-class businessman and industrialist whose family had emigrated from Anantnag in Kashmir for business, and eventually settled in the village of Jati Umra in Amritsar district, Punjab, at the beginning of the twentieth century. His mother's family came from Pulwama. Following the partition of India and Pakistan's independence in 1947, his parents migrated from Amritsar to Lahore. He has two brothers, Abbas Sharif and Nawaz Sharif. Nawaz is a three-time elected Prime Minister of Pakistan, serving the longest non-consecutive tenure in the role. Nawaz's wife, Kulsoom Nawaz, was the First Lady of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms and his daughter, Maryam Nawaz is the current Chief Minister of Punjab.

Sharif attended St. Anthony High School, Lahore, and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Government College University, Lahore. After his graduation, he joined his family-owned Ittefaq Group. He was elected president of Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry in 1985. Sharif can speak Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi, English, German and Arabic.

Sharif began his political career after getting elected to the Punjab Assembly from Constituency PP-122 (Lahore-VII) as a candidate of the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI) in the 1988 general election. Head 22,372 votes and defeated a candidate of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP). However, his term prematurely ended in 1990 when the assemblies were dissolved.

He was re-elected to the Provincial Assembly of Punjab from Constituency PP-124 (Lahore-IX) as an IJI candidate in the 1990 general election. He received 26,408 votes and defeated a candidate of the Pakistan Democratic Alliance (PDA). In the same election, he was elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan from Constituency NA-96 (Lahore-V) as a candidate of IJI. He secured 54,506 votes and defeated Jehangir Bader. He vacated the Punjab Assembly seat to retain his National Assembly seat. His term prematurely ended in 1993 when the assemblies were dissolved.

He was re-elected to the Punjab Assembly from Constituency PP-125 (Lahore-X) as a candidate of the Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML(N)), a new party founded by his brother, Nawaz, in the 1993 general election. He received 28,068 votes and defeated a candidate of PPP. In the same election, he was re-elected to the National Assembly from Constituency NA-96 (Lahore-V) as a candidate of the PML(N). He secured 55,867 votes and defeated Yousuf Salahuddin. He vacated the National Assembly seat and retained his Provincial Punjab Assembly seat. Shortly after the election, he was elected Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly. During his tenure as Leader of the Opposition, he travelled to the United Kingdom for medical treatment. In his absence, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi was made Acting Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly. His term as a member of the Punjab Assembly and Leader of the Opposition prematurely ended in November 1996 when the assemblies were dissolved.