Syed Hashim Raza was a leading bureaucrat and former Governor of East Pakistan.

Early life and education

He was born on 16 February 1910 at

Unnao Unnao is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of Unnao district and a part of Lucknow division, between Kanpur and Lucknow. Unnao is a large industrial city with three industrial suburbs around it. ...

United Provinces of Agra and Oudh The United Provinces of Agra and Oudh was a province of India under the British Raj, which existed from 1902 to 1921; the official name was shortened by the Government of India Act 1935 to United Provinces (UP), by which the province had been ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

into a prominent Family of Mashhadi Persian Origin. In 1932, he graduated from Lucknow University with a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degree in political science. Then he went on to

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

for further studies.

Career

In 1934, he joined the Indian civil service in

. From 1934 to 1939, he was an assistant collector and

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

. He served as deputy commissioner in

Larkana Larkana ( ur, , translit=lāṛkāna; sd, لاڙڪاڻو, translit=lāṛkāṇo) is a city located in the Sindh province of Pakistan. It is the 15th largest city of Pakistan by population. It is home to the Indus Valley civilization site Moh ...

and Tharparkar districts from 1943 to 1946. From 1946 to 1947, he served as the deputy secretary of Home and General Departments. Syed Hashim Raza held numerous positions from provincial press adviser, secretary to the

Governor of Sindh The governor of Sindh is the appointed head of the province of Sindh, Pakistan. The office of the governor as the head of the province is largely a ceremonial position; the executive powers lie with the Chief Minister of Sindh, chief minister and t ...

among others. From 1948 to 1951, he was the first administrator of the then federal capital of Pakistan,

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 cap ...

. In fact, he was serving in this administrator's position when the

founder of Pakistan Muhammad Ali Jinnah (, ; born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 1876 – 11 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the ...

Muhammad Ali Jinnah Muhammad Ali Jinnah (, ; born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 1876 – 11 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the ...

died on 11 September 1948 in Karachi. He was one of the close associates of Jinnah. From 1951 to 1953, he served in various capacities in the

Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

administration. From 1 July 1961 to 5 August 1961, he was the acting ''Governor of East Pakistan''.

Awards and recognition

* Sitara-I-Pakistan (Star of Pakistan) Award for his distinguished services to Pakistan * ''Sitara-e-Quaid-e-Azam'' (Star of Quaid-e-Azam) Award by 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 Administrative units of Pakistan, four provin ...

Death and legacy

He died on 30 September 2003 in

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 ...

at age 93 due to kidney failure after a long illness. He was married to Salma Raza. He had two daughters and two sons,

Syed Ali Raza Syed Ali Raza is a Pakistani businessman and author. He became the President of the National Bank of Pakistan, being the longest serving President of the bank up to that point, and has also worked at the North African branch of Bank of America. ...

, former president of

National Bank of Pakistan National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) () is a Pakistani government-owned multinational commercial bank which is a subsidiary of State Bank of Pakistan. It is headquartered in Karachi, Pakistan. As of September 2020, it has 1,511 branches across Pakist ...

, and Syed Salim Raza, former Governor of State Bank of Pakistan.

References

1910 births 2003 deaths Governors of East Pakistan Muhajir people Pakistani civil servants All India Muslim League members Recipients of the Sitara-e-Pakistan {{Pakistan-gov-stub