Fahmida Mirza ( ur, ; born 20 December 1956) is a Pakistani politician who was Federal Minister for Inter Provincial Coordination, in office from 20 August 2018 until 10 April 2022. She served as the 18th and only women

Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan The Speaker of the National Assembly (Urdu: اسپیکر قومی اسمبلی); informally as Speaker National Assembly, is the presiding official of the National Assembly of Pakistan– a lower house of the Parliament of Pakistan. The off ...

from March 2008 to June 2013. Previously, she was a member of the National Assembly from 1997 to 1999 , 2002 to May 2018 and again she has been a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan since August 2018.

Early life and education

Mirza was born on 20 December 1956 in Karachi to Qazi Abdul Majeed Abid. She belongs to an influential political family of Sindh. Mirza is married to

Zulfiqar Mirza Zulfiqar Mirza (Urdu: ) is a Pakistani politician who is currently affiliated with the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA). He is from Badin District, Sindh, Pakistan. Early life and education He acquired his early education from Cadet College ...

. She has two sons and two daughters. Mirza did her schooling from St Mary's Convent in

Hyderabad 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 India ...

in 1972. She is a medical graduate and did her MBBS from Liaquat Medical College in Jamshoro in 1982. She is an agriculturist and businesswoman by profession. She was chief executive of a Karachi-based advertising company and the chief executive officer of the Mirza Sugar Mills.

Political career

Mirza joined Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in 1997 and was elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan as a candidate of PPP from Constituency NA-173 (Badin-II) in 1997 Pakistani general election. She was re-elected to the National Assembly as a candidate of PPP from Constituency NA-225 (Badin-II) in 2002 Pakistani general election. She received 71,537 votes and defeated Khan Mohammad Halipota, a candidate of Pakistan Muslim League (Q) (PML-Q). She was re-elected to the National Assembly as a candidate of PPP from Constituency NA-225 (Badin-cum-Tando Muhammad Khan-II) in 2008 Pakistani general election. She received 88,983 votes and defeated Bibi Yasmeen Shah, a candidate of PML-Q. In March 2008, she was elected as the 18th and first women

. She received 249 votes and defeated her opponent Muhammad Israr Tareen who secured 70 votes. She was re-elected to the National Assembly as a candidate of PPP from Constituency (Badin-cum-Tando Muhammad Khan-II) in 2013 Pakistani general election. She received 110,738 votes and defeated Bibi Yasmeen Shah, a candidate of Pakistan Muslim League (F) (PML-F). In May 2018, she quit PPP, saying that "the PPP government caused deteriorating conditions in Sindh and ignored the people of Badin". She announced to join a party which providing basic facilities to the people of her constituency, Badin. In June 2018, she joined

Grand Democratic Alliance The Grand Democratic Alliance ( ur, گرانڈ جمہوری اتحاد) or GDA is a political alliance in Pakistan. It was founded on 23 October 2017 as a movement against the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) government in the Sindh accusing PPP regi ...

(GDA). In June 2018, both Mirza and her husband

were declared loan defaulters by the

State Bank of Pakistan The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) ( ur, ) is the Central Bank of Pakistan. Its Constitution, as originally laid down in the State Bank of Pakistan Order 1948, remained basically unchanged until 1 January 1974, when the bank was Nationalized and ...

. It was noted that the couple used political influence to obtain millions of loans from different banks which were later written-off. She was re-elected to the National Assembly as a candidate of GDA from Constituency NA-230 (Badin-II) in 2018 Pakistani general election. On 18 August,

Imran Khan Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi ( ur}; born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician and former Cricket captain who served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan from August 2018 to until April 2022, when he was ousted through a no-confidenc ...

formally announced his federal cabinet structure and Mirza was named as Minister for Inter Provincial Coordination. On 20 August 2018, she was sworn in as Federal Minister for Inter Provincial Coordination in the federal cabinet of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mirza, Fahmida 1956 births Living people Women federal ministers of Pakistan Pakistani business executives Pakistani MNAs 1997–1999 Pakistani MNAs 2002–2007 Pakistani MNAs 2008–2013 Pakistani MNAs 2013–2018 Pakistani MNAs 2018–2023 Pakistan People's Party MNAs Women members of the National Assembly of Pakistan Women legislative speakers Speakers of the National Assembly of Pakistan F Grand Democratic Alliance MNAs 21st-century Pakistani women politicians