Syed Hamid Raza Gilani ( ur, ; 17 August 1936 – 24 January 2004) was a former

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

i Federal Minister and

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

Early life

In keeping with his family's tradition, Syed Hamid Raza Gilani received his early education at

Aitchison College Aitchison College ( ur, ایچیسن کالج) is an independent, semi-private boys school for boarding and day students from grade 1–13 in Lahore, Pakistan. It has a tradition of providing an education that uses academics, sports, and co-curri ...

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

. Mr. Gilani attended

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and was called to the Bar at lincoln's inn

Political career

Mr. Gilani's political career began in 1962 when he was elected unopposed from

Multan Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab. Multan is one of the List ...

to the National Assembly of Pakistan during the government of President

Ayub Khan Ayub Khan is a compound masculine name; Ayub is the Arabic version of the name of the Biblical figure Job, while Khan or Khaan is taken from the title used first by the Mongol rulers and then, in particular, their Islamic and Persian-influenced s ...

. He was appointed Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs. During this time he became a close friend of

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar (or Zulfiqar) Ali Bhutto ( ur, , sd, ذوالفقار علي ڀٽو; 5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979), also known as Quaid-e-Awam ("the People's Leader"), was a Pakistani barrister, politician and Politician, statesman who served as ...

. Mr. Gilani lost the election in 1970, joined the

Pakistan Peoples Party The Pakistan People's Party ( ur, , ; PPP) is a centre-left, social-democratic political party in Pakistan. It is currently the third largest party in the National Assembly and second largest in the Senate of Pakistan. The party was founded ...

, and was appointed Pakistan's ambassador to

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

, where he served from 1971 to 1975. Upon returning to Pakistan in 1975 he contested elections on a PPP ticket and was elected to the National Assembly yet again. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, who was Prime Minister at the time, appointed him to his cabinet as Minister for Industries. During President

Zia ul-Haq General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq HI, GCSJ, ร.ม.ภ, (Urdu: ; 12 August 1924 – 17 August 1988) was a Pakistani four-star general and politician who became the sixth President of Pakistan following a coup and declaration of martial law in ...

's regime, Mr. Gilani's group won the local bodies elections in Multan with an overwhelming majority. He was elected to the National Assembly in the non-party polls in 1985. He was nominated for Prime Minister in 1985 as the Gilani group was the largest in the non-party elections but

wanted the candidate to be from Sind. Later he served as a Senator from 1990 to 1997.

Social work

Mr. Gilani played a major role in Anjuman Islamia, an organization responsible for establishing over 24 schools and colleges in Multan. He also served as the chairman of the board of governors of Nishtar Medical College & Hospital, Multan.

Family background

His father Makhdoom Syed Muhammad Raza Shah Gilani also studied at Aitchison College where he received the much coveted Rivaz Gold Medal. He too was a politician and is best remembered for defeating Penderel Moon (later Sir Penderel Moon), the British Raj's candidate in the local elections. He was chairman of Multan District Council for many years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilani, Hamid Raza 1936 births 2004 deaths Aitchison College alumni Alumni of the University of Oxford High Commissioners of Pakistan to Kenya Pakistan People's Party politicians People from Multan Federal ministers of Pakistan Members of the Senate of Pakistan Yousaf Raza Gillani Pakistani MNAs 1962–1965