Abdul Hafeez Mirza (2 October 1939 – 17 November 2021) was a Pakistani tourism worker, cultural activist and an educationist. He worked as general manager at Tourism Development Corporation Punjab (TDCP), and served as a Consultant for Tourism Corporation Khyber Pakhtunkwha (TCKP),formerly known as Sarhad Tourism Development Corporation . He also worked for Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC). He worked as the managing director of a tour operating company, Montana Travel Service ltd. He was also a professor of French Language and was an Author of several books on French Language and Tourism. Mirza was involved in the policy-making for Tourism in Pakistan. He was awarded by the Government of France with the Ordre de Palmes Academiques award in 2015 for the services he rendered in the fields of education and culture.

Early life and education

Mirza was born to a Muslim family in Lahore during British India. His father Mirza Sardar Baig served in the

British-Indian army The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which cou ...

and the office of the

British Resident A resident minister, or resident for short, is a government official required to take up permanent residence in another country. A representative of his government, he officially has diplomatic functions which are often seen as a form of indir ...

at Lahore before Partition. Mirza was educated at Government College University and the

University of the Punjab The University of the Punjab (Urdu, pnb, ), also referred to as Punjab University, is a public, research, coeducational higher education institution located in Lahore, Pakistan. Punjab University is the oldest public university in Pakistan. ...

. He then went to France in 1960 to complete his master's degree in French from Toulouse University. In 1974, Mirza completed an advanced course in French language teaching from the Catholic University of Paris. He also completed a German language certification from the

Goethe-Institut The Goethe-Institut (, GI, en, Goethe Institute) is a non-profit German cultural association operational worldwide with 159 institutes, promoting the study of the German language abroad and encouraging international cultural exchange and ...

in Lahore. Mirza also completed an advanced course on Economy and Politics of International Tourism organized by the

UNWTO The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is the United Nations specialized agency entrusted with the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism. Its headquarters are in Madrid, Spain. UNWTO is the leading internati ...

( United Nations World Tourism Organization) held at

University of Paris-Sorbonne Paris-Sorbonne University (also known as Paris IV; french: Université Paris-Sorbonne, Paris IV) was a public research university in Paris, France, active from 1971 to 2017. It was the main inheritor of the Faculty of Humanities of the Universit ...

in 1992. Mirza was among nine individuals who were selected for that course from all over the world.

Career

Mirza returned to Pakistan after completing his master's degree in 1964 and started out as a professor of French. He taught French at

Alliance Francaise An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

Lahore, Aitchison College Lahore,

Forman Christian College University Forman Christian College is an private liberal arts university in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It was founded in 1864 and is administered by the Presbyterian Church. The university follows an American-style curriculum. Founded in 1864 by American ...

and Lahore American School from 1964 to 1974. Mirza was the first ever teacher at Alliance Francaise Lahore. Mirza shifted his career from education to the travel and tourism industry. In 1976 he established a travel and Tour operating company, Montana Travel Service limited. During the 70s and 80s, Mirza mostly dealt with European tourist groups and Sikh religious groups in Pakistan. Mirza was nominated by the Planning Commission of Pakistan to head the Working Group for formulation of tourism policies for the 7th Five year Plan of Pakistan (1988–1993). Mirza joined Tourism Development Corporation Punjab in 1987 and remained general manager until 1995. He also worked as a consultant for Sarhad Tourism in 1996. Mirza worked for Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) in 1999. He conducted several courses on tourism and tour guiding. Mirza represented Pakistan at various International tourism forums, including a

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

tourism fair Vakantie 87 held at

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

, and at

ITB Berlin The ITB Berlin (Internationale Tourismus-Börse Berlin) is the world's largest tourism trade fair. The companies represented at the fair include hotels, tourist boards, tour operators, system providers, airlines and car rental companies. The ITB ...

in 1990 and 1991. Mirza resumed teaching in 1998. He worked as a visiting professor at the University of Punjab from 2003 to 2012. He taught French and hotel management at the College of Tourism and Hotel Management (COTHM), and French and Business English at

National College of Business Administration and Economics The National College of Business Administration and Economics (NCBAE) is a private university located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Schools Currently, NCBA&E has two schools: and has one faculty of Social Sciences. These schools and faculty of s ...

. Mirza also taught French at Alliance Francaise Lahore from 2010 till his retirement in 2012. He received the

Ordre des Palmes Academiques A suite, in Western classical music and jazz, is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral/ concert band pieces. It originated in the late 14th century as a pairing of dance tunes and grew in scope to comprise up to five dances, sometimes with ...

from the Government of France in 2015.

Notable works and publications

* ''Reincarnation of Another Kind''; Biography of Pakistani-French fashion designer

Mehmood Bhatti Mehmood Bhatti is a Pakistani-French fashion designer. Biography Mehmood was born in Lahore, Pakistan, and graduated from Government College University. Bhatti immigrated to France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), ...

. * ''A French Course for Beginners''; a guide for learning French from English. * ''Guide to Lahore''; a travel guide book for tourists, published in 1985 (written in 3 languages : French, English and German). * ''Introuction to Pakistan''; published in 1989. * ''"Mualim e Fransisi"''; a guidebook for learning French from Urdu, published by Aziz Book Depot, Lahore in 1998. * "Promoting Domestic Tourism"; an article published on October 29, 1993, in Friday Review, ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...

''. * "Le Pakistan: Remp Art et Enjeu Mondial"; an article published on 6 February 1987 in French newspaper '' Nord Eclair''. * "Tourism Development in Pakistan"; an article published in the July 8th, 1993 in ''

'', Special Supplement.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mirza, Abdul Hafeez 1939 births 2021 deaths People from Lahore Recipients of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques Tourism Pakistani writers Pakistani educators French language in Asia Tourism in Pakistan University of Paris alumni University of Toulouse alumni University of the Punjab alumni Pakistani books Pakistani culture Government College University, Lahore alumni Government College University, Lahore University of the Punjab faculty