Begum Kulsoom Nawaz Sharif ( Punjabi, ur, ; 29 March 1948– 11 September 2018) was a Pakistani politician who had been the first lady of

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 ...

for three non-consecutive terms; from 1990 to 1993, 1997 to 1999 and then from 2013 to 2017. She was the President of

Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) The Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) ( ur, , translit=Pākistān Muslim Līg (Nūn) PML(N) or PML-N) is a centre-right and liberal conservative political party in Pakistan. Alongside the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Peoples Par ...

from 1999 to 2002.

Early and personal life

Kulsoom was born on 29 March 1948 in

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 ...

into a Punjabi butt family, to Hafiz Butt. According to other sources, she was born on 22 March 1948. She attended Islamia College and graduated from the

Forman Christian College 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 America ...

in Lahore. She received a master's degree in

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' 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. ...

in 1970. Kulsoom had two sisters and a brother. From her maternal side, she was the maternal granddaughter of the wrestler

The Great Gama Ghulam Mohammad Baksh Butt (22 May 1878 – 23 May 1960), commonly known as ''Rustam-e-Hind'' (Hindi-Urdu for ''Rostam of Hindostan'') and by the ring name The Great Gama, was a pehlwani wrestler and strongman in British India. In the ear ...

. She married

Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (Urdu, Punjabi: ; born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani businessman and politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms. He is the longest-serving prime minister of Pak ...

, the three-time

Prime Minister of Pakistan The prime minister of Pakistan ( ur, , romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen cabinet, despite the president of Pa ...

, in April 1970. The couple have four children: Maryam, Asma, Hassan and Hussain.

Career

Spouse of the Prime Minister of Pakistan

Poetry recital in honour of Kalsoom Nawaz Sharif

Kulsoom became the first lady of Pakistan for the first time after her husband,

, became Prime Minister of Pakistan on 1 November 1990 when his party,

Islami Jamhoori Ittehad The Islami Jamhoori Ittehad ( Islamic Democratic Alliance; acronym: IJI; ur, ) was a right-wing conservative alliance formed in September 1988 to oppose the democratic socialist Pakistan Peoples Party in elections that year. The alliance compri ...

, won 104 of 207 seats contested in the

1990 Pakistani general election General elections were held in Pakistan on 24 October 1990 to elect the members of the National Assembly. The elections were primarily a contest between the People's Democratic Alliance (PDA, a four party alliance led by the ruling Pakistan P ...

. His first term as Prime Minister ended in July 1993. She became first lady of Pakistan for the second time after Nawaz Sharif became Prime Minister of Pakistan when his party, Pakistan Muslim League (N), won the 1997 Pakistani general election. His second term as Prime Minister was ended when then Chief of Army Staff General

Pervez Musharraf General Pervez Musharraf ( ur, , Parvez Muśharraf; born 11 August 1943) is a former Pakistani politician and four-star general of the Pakistan Army who became the tenth president of Pakistan after the successful military takeover of t ...

led a military coup d'état against him on 12 October 1999. Kulsoom was arrested by the Pakistan Army Corps of Military Police and immediately shifted to her local residence. According to her daughter,

Maryam Nawaz Maryam Nawaz Sharif ( Punjabi and ; born 28 October 1973), also known as Maryam Safdar, is a Pakistani politician and the daughter of former Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif. She was initially involved in the family's philanthropic orga ...

, Kulsoom "dauntlessly challenged the usurper when a lot of men backed out". Nawaz Sharif named his wife as the President of Pakistan Muslim League in 1999. In 2000, she led a public rally from Lahore to

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

to gather the public support for the PML-N. Soon after leaving her residence, her car was surrounded by the police and she was detained. She remained president of the PML-N until 2002. She became the first lady of Pakistan for the third time after Nawaz Sharif became Prime Minister of Pakistan when his party, Pakistan Muslim League (N), won the 2013 Pakistani general election.

Political career

Kulsoom was elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan for the first time from NA-120 (Lahore-III) as a candidate of PML (N) in by-polls held in September 2017. She secured 59,413 votes and defeated

Yasmin Rashid Yasmin Rashid ( : born 21 September 1950) is a Pakistani politician and social activist who was the Provincial Minister of Punjab for Primary & Secondary Healthcare and Specialised Healthcare & Medical Education, in office from August 2018 till ...

of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. The NA-120 seat fell vacant after her husband, Nawaz Sharif, was disqualified by the

Supreme Court of Pakistan The Supreme Court of Pakistan ( ur, ; ''Adālat-e-Uzma Pākistān'') is the apex court in the judicial hierarchy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Established in accordance to thePart VIIof the Constitution of Pakistan, it has ultimate a ...

in the

Panama Papers case The Panama Papers case (officially titled ''Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi v. Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif''), or the Panamagate case, was a landmark decision by the Supreme Court of Pakistan that disqualified incumbent Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz ...

. She was unable to take oath as member of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

due to her illness. She was known for maintaining a low profile.

Death and funeral

Nawaz was diagnosed with

lymphoma Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). In current usage the name usually refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enla ...

in August 2017 and received treatment in London. She underwent several sessions of

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs ( chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemothe ...

and radiotherapy during her illness. In June 2018, Nawaz suffered cardiac arrest and was placed on a

ventilator A ventilator is a piece of medical technology that provides mechanical ventilation by moving breathable air into and out of the lungs, to deliver breaths to a patient who is physically unable to breathe, or breathing insufficiently. Ventilators ...

. On 10 September 2018, she was readmitted to the hospital and was put on the ventilator. She died on the 11 September 2018 at the age of 70 in London while both her husband Nawaz Sharif and daughter Maryam were serving jail terms. Her husband and daughter were granted timed-parole in order to attend her funeral. On 13 September 2018, a funeral prayer for Nawaz was held in a

Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies of high ground in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the Borough of Camden (and historically betwee ...

mosque in London. Following which her body was flown from the Heathrow Airport to Lahore on a

Pakistan International Airlines Pakistan International Airlines ( ur, ; abbreviated PIA, ur, ) is an international airline that serves as the national flag carrier of Pakistan under the administrative control of the Secretary to the Government of Pakistan for Aviation. It ...

flight. On 14 September 2018, in Lahore, a funeral prayer led by

Maulana Tariq Jameel Tariq Jamil ( ur, , Ṭāriq Jamīl; born 1 October 1953), is a Pakistani Islamic television preacher, religious writer, scholar, and a member of the Tablighi Jamaat. The recipient of the Pride of Performance award, Jamil has been named twice i ...

was offered at

Sharif Medical City Sharif Medical and Dental College ( ur, , also known as Sharif Medical City) is a medical college in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Recognition and affiliation * Accredited by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Pakistan. * Affiliated with ...

around 5:30 pm PKT before she was laid to rest in Jati Umra.

References

{{authority control 1950 births 2018 deaths Pakistan Muslim League (N) politicians Pakistani expatriates in Saudi Arabia Pakistani people of Kashmiri descent Presidents of the Pakistan Muslim League (N) Punjabi people Spouses of prime ministers of Pakistan Forman Christian College alumni University of the Punjab alumni People from Lahore Sharif family Deaths from cancer in England Deaths from lymphoma Pakistani MNAs 2013–2018