Agha Hilaly (20 May 1911 – 6 February 2001) ( ur, آغا هلالی) was one of Pakistan's senior most diplomats who held several high offices in the

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the four provinces, two autonomous territorie ...

, including Pakistan's Ambassador to the United States from 21 October 1966 to 20 October 1971.

Career and family background

Hilaly was born in 1911 in

Bangalore Bangalore (), List of renamed places in India, officially Bengaluru (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan area, metropolitan population of a ...

. He joined the

Indian Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 300 million p ...

in 1936 at the age of 25,Profile of Agha Hilaly on npg.org.uk website (National Portrait Gallery website)
Retrieved 14 November 2018 and opted for Pakistan during the

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

in 1947 and settled in Pakistan along with his family in 1947. As the

was in the process of establishing its foreign service cadre, all officers of the

Civil Service of Pakistan The Central Superior Services (CSS; or Civil Service) is a permanent elite civil service authority, and the civil service that is responsible for running the bureaucratic operations and government secretariats and directorates of the Cabinet of ...

that succeeded the

were encouraged to join the new cadre. Hilaly was one of the first to do so and played an important role in shaping the strategic dimensions of Pakistan's foreign policy. He was Pakistani Ambassador to the Scandinavian countries with residence in Stockholm from 1956 to 1959. In 1959 he was appointed Ambassador to

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

and concurrently to

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

, until 1961, when he was assigned to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. While representing Pakistan at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

and serving as Ambassador to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. In the latter position, he facilitated the secret visit of US Secretary of State

Henry Kissinger Henry Alfred Kissinger (; ; born Heinz Alfred Kissinger, May 27, 1923) is a German-born American politician, diplomat, and geopolitical consultant who served as United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under the presid ...

to China, a fact acknowledged by President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

. His younger brother

Agha Shahi Agha Shahi ( ur, آغا شا ﮨی; 25 August 1920 – 6 September 2006), ''NI'', was a Pakistani career Foreign service officer who was the leading civilian figure in the military government of former President General Zia-ul-Haq from 1977 t ...

also an ICS officer followed in his footsteps and rose to be Foreign Minister of Pakistan. One of their uncles Sir

Mirza Ismail Sir Mirza Muhammad Ismail Amin-ul-Mulq (24 October 1883 – 5 January 1959) was an Indian statesman and police officer who served as the Diwan of Mysore, Jaipur, and Hyderabad.P. 254-258, ''Business Legends'' by Gita Piramal (1998) – Published ...

served as Diwan

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

of the princely state of

Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...

Jaipur Jaipur (; Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had a population of 3.1 million, making it the tenth most populous city in the country. Jaipur is also known ...

and

Hyderabad, India Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the '' de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern In ...

from 1926 to 1947. His nephew Akbar Mirza Khaleeli was a prominent Indian Diplomat and served as Indian Ambassador to Iran, Italy and Australia and was Advisor to the Indian Government on Middle Eastern Affairs. His son

Zafar Hilaly Zafar Ali Hilaly ( , born 1942) is a Pakistani political analyst and diplomat who has previously served as his country's ambassador to Yemen, Nigeria, and from February 2001 Italy. He was educated at Highgate School. Hilaly is a columnist and fr ...

is also a former ambassador of

.From Persia to Pakistan, via Mysore
Raza Rumi's website (archived), Published 20 September 2008, Retrieved 14 November 2018

Death

Agha Hilaly died in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

on 6 February 2001, at the age of 89.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hilaly, Agha 1911 births 2001 deaths Politicians from Bangalore Muhajir people Pakistani Shia Muslims Ambassadors of Pakistan to the United States Ambassadors of Pakistan to the Soviet Union Indian Civil Service (British India) officers People from Karachi Ambassadors of Pakistan to Sweden High Commissioners of Pakistan to India High Commissioners of Pakistan to the United Kingdom Ambassadors of Pakistan to Czechoslovakia Ambassadors of Pakistan to Russia Tyabji family