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Chaudhry Muhammad Ali

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Chaudhry Mohammad Ali
4th Prime Minister of Pakistan
In office
12 August 1955 – 12 September 1956
MonarchElizabeth II (Before 1956)
PresidentIskander Mirza (From 1956)
Governors GeneralMalik Ghulam Muhammad
Iskander Mirza (Before 1956)
Preceded byMuhammad Ali Bogra
Succeeded byHuseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy
Minister of Defence
In office
12 August 1955 – 12 September 1956
Preceded byAyub Khan
Succeeded byHuseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy
Minister of Finance
In office
24 October 1951 – 11 August 1955
Prime MinisterKhawaja Nazimuddin
Muhammad Ali Bogra
Preceded byMalik Ghulam Mohammad
Succeeded byAmjad Ali
Personal details
Born(1905-07-15)15 July 1905
Jalandhar, Punjab, British India
(now in Punjab, India)
Died2 December 1980(1980-12-02) (aged 75)
Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan
Political partyMuslim League
Alma materUniversity of the Punjab

Chaudhry Mohammad Ali (Punjabi, Urdu: چوہدری محمد علی; July 15, 1905 – December 2, 1980) was the fourth Prime Minister of Pakistan and a civil service officer, serving from 12 August 1955 until 12 September 1956.

He graduated from the University of Punjab after that, Ali passed the entrance exam and gained commissioned in the Indian Civil Service. He joined the department of the Audits and Accounts Services while serving as the state accountant to Bhawalpur State in 1936. In 1945, Ali joined the British government and became the first Indian to have appointed as Finance adviser to Secretary of State for War Percy James Grigg. During the time of independence, Ali was one of the two secretaries to the Partition Council, presided over by Lord Mountbatten, and opted for Pakistan in 1947.

In 1951, he was appointed second Finance minister of Pakistan and won the slot of Prime minister in 1955. His government lasted only one year but widely regarded to have promulgated the 1956 Constitution with wide scale public approval.

Early life

Ali was born in Jalandhar.[citation needed].[1] He received his early education from the primary school "Nahangal Anbia" which was later upgraded to Middle School. He passed his middle examination from the same school.[1] He attained his M. Sc. degree in 1927 from Punjab University.[2] Afterwards, he began working in the financial sector of the Indian government and was also one of the highest ranking Muslim civil servants in the British Raj. Prior to independence, Chaudhry Mohammad Ali worked with Haribhai M. Patel future Finance and Home Minister of India and Walter John Christie on the preparation and implementation of the crucial document The Administrative Consequences of Partition.[3] His son, Khalid Anwer, is a well-known lawyer and constitutional expert in Pakistan.

Upon the formation of Pakistan, Ali was made the Secretary General of the new nation and was instrumental to setting up a budget for the fledgling nation. In 1951, he was promoted to Finance Minister. His son, Senator Khalid Anwer, also served as Federal Minister of Pakistan for Law, Justice and Human Rights.

Prime minister

Four years later, Chaudhry Muhammad Ali was made Prime Minister by Governor General of Pakistan Iskander Mirza in 1955, after the removal of Muhammad Ali Bogra. While Prime Minister, Ali's greatest achievement was the formation of a new constitution for Pakistan, one that made it a republic in 1956. The constitution became unprecedentedly famous across Pakistan and intended to mix democracy and Islam.

Resignation

Despite this success, Chaudhry Muhammad Ali failed at healing rifts within his political party, the Muslim League. Splits within the party led to the formation of a new party, the Republican Party. The new party claimed to hold the majority of seats in the National Assembly while the Muslim League contested this and tried to have Ali check the Republican Party. Despite the demands of his own party, Ali would refuse, claiming that, as Prime Minister, the interests of the nation—and not of his party—were primary to him. As the situation deteriorated, he resigned from both the position of Prime Minister, and from the Muslim League.

After the resignation, Chaudhry Muhammad Ali did not remain quiet. He protested against the dictatorship of Ayub Khan. He toured East and West Pakistan in connection with moulding the public opinion against him. His basic purpose was to unite the democratic forces against dictatorship.[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "CHAUDHRY MOHAMMAD ALI - History Pak". History Pak. Retrieved 2016-04-11.
  2. ^ "Chaudhry Mohammad Ali | Former Prime Minister of Pakistan". Story Of Pakistan. Retrieved 2016-04-11.
  3. ^ John Christie Morning Drum BACSA 1983 ISBN 0-907799-04-3 pp95-102
Political offices
Preceded by Minister of Finance
1951–1955
Succeeded by
Preceded by Prime Minister of Pakistan
1955–1956
Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister of Defence
1955–1956