Syed Babar Ali OBE ( ur, سید بابر علی; born 15 January 1926) is a Pakistani businessman, philanthropist and former caretaker

Finance Minister of Pakistan The Minister of Finance of Pakistan (Urdu: 'Wazīr-ē-Khazana') is a leading cabinet member who heads the Ministry of Finance in the Government of Pakistan. The Minister is responsible each year for presenting the federal government's budget to ...

. He is the founder of

Packages Limited Packages Limited () is a Pakistani multinational packaging company with its head office based in Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, w ...

, Milkpak Limited–now

Nestlé Pakistan Nestlé Pakistan () is a Pakistani food company which is a subsidiary of Swiss multinational company Nestlé. It is active in dairy, confectionery, coffee, beverages, infant nutrition and bottled drinking water areas.Lahore University of Management Sciences Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) () is a private research university, located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. In 1983, Syed Babar Ali, a renowned businessman in Pakistan, recognized the shortage of qualified managers in the co ...

. Syed Babar Ali School of Science and Engineering is named after him.

Early life and family

Syed Babar Ali was born in 1926 to a businessman Syed Maratib Ali 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. ...

, Pakistan. His father owned shops in the

Walled City of Lahore The Walled City of Lahore (Punjabi language, Punjabi & ur, , ''"Inner City"''), also known as Old City, forms the historic core of Lahore, Pakistan. The city was established around 1000 CE in the western half of the Walled City, which was for ...

and was a top contractor of 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 co ...

supplying them with services like logistics and all sorts of items used in regiments. The money was used to invest in land. His mother belonged to the prominent landlord family of

. On his maternal side, his grandmother was a member of the Afghan royal family. He is the brother of

Syed Amjad Ali Syed Amjad Ali ( ur, سید امجد علی; 5 July 1907 – 5 March 1997) was a Pakistani politician and a civil servant during the British Raj era, who served as the 3rd Minister of Finance (Pakistan) from 1956 to 1958 and as Pakista ...

and

Syed Wajid Ali Syed Wajid Ali ( ur, سید واجد علی) (20 December 1911 – 14 June 2008) was a leading industrialist of Pakistan who is also known for his services to the Olympic Movement. He became the President of Pakistan Olympic Association in 197 ...

. He received his education from

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. He graduated from Government College, Lahore; for further studies he went to the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

till 1947, when he moved to newly-created state of

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 ...

. He completed his graduation from

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. ...

, Lahore. He also briefly studied at

Harvard School of Business Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA ...

which helped him later founding business school.

Career

In 1970s,

Zulfikar 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 statesman who served as the fourth ...

's nationalization affected his five out of six companies, leaving only

. He served as the Chairman of National Fertilizer Company (NFC) helping to set up the country's first ever fertilizer company. Ali is the Chairman of

Sanofi-Aventis Sanofi S.A. is a French multinational pharmaceutical and healthcare company headquartered in Paris, France. Originally, the corporation was established in 1973 and merged with Synthélabo in 1999 to form Sanofi-Synthélabo. In 2004, Sanofi-Syn ...

Pakistan Limited,

Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad. The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', '' ...

Pakistan Engineering Company Limited, and

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...

Beverages Pakistan Limited. He believes in the joint venture philosophy and most of his businesses are joint ventures with major multinationals. In 1992, he founded 'Ali Institute of Education' for training of primary and secondary school teachers. He served as the Minister of Finance, Economic Affairs & Planning in the caretaker setup in 1993. Ali promoted the cause of the

World Wide Fund for Nature The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wor ...

where he served in various positions, both in Pakistan and internationally, from 1972 to 1996. He was the International President of WWF from 1996 to 1999 succeeding

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from El ...

.Past Presidents of World Wide Fund for Nature (scroll down to read Syed Babar Ali profile)
World Wide Fund for Nature website, Retrieved 31 July 2020

Awards

Ali received honours and awards from the

Government of Sweden The Government of the Kingdom of Sweden ( sv, Konungariket Sveriges regering) is the national cabinet of Sweden, and the country's executive authority. The Government consists of the Prime Ministerappointed and dismissed by the Speaker of the ...

, the

Government of Netherlands The politics of the Netherlands take place within the framework of a parliamentary representative democracy, a constitutional monarchy, and a decentralised unitary state.''Civil service systems in Western Europe'' edited by A. J. G. M. Bekke ...

, an

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

from Britain (1997), and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate Degree of Laws from

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, Canada (1997).

References

External links

Archival Photographs of his marriage in 1954, from Life Magazine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ali, Syed Babar 1926 births Living people Pakistani philanthropists Pakistani people of Afghan descent Finance Ministers of Pakistan Aitchison College alumni University of Michigan alumni Harvard Business School alumni Lahore University of Management Sciences Businesspeople from Lahore World Wide Fund for Nature University of the Punjab alumni Pakistani company founders Founders of Pakistani schools and colleges Syed Babar Pakistani Members of the Order of the British Empire People from Lahore