Fazal Elahi Chaudhry ( ur, ; 1 January 1904 – 2 June 1982) was a Pakistani politician who served as the fifth

president of Pakistan The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces.martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Martia ...

led by Chief of Army Staff General

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 ...

. He also served as the deputy speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan from 1965 to 1969 and the eighth

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 offi ...

from 1972 to 1973.

Early life

Fazal Elahi Chaudhry was born on 1 January 1904 into an influential

Gujjar Gurjar or Gujjar (also transliterated as ''Gujar, Gurjara and Gujjer'') is an ethnic nomadic, agricultural and pastoral community, spread mainly in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, divided internally into various clan groups. They were tradi ...

family in Marala village, near the city of

Kharian Kharian ( ur, ), is a city located within the Gujrat District of the Punjab province of Pakistan. Kharian is the headquarters of Kharian Tehsil. According to 2017 Census of Pakistan, it has a population of about 87,419. It is known as Litt ...

Gujrat District Gujrat (Punjabi and ur, ), is a district of Punjab Province in Pakistan. It is bounded on the northeast by Mirpur, on the northwest by the River Jhelum, which separates it from Jhelum District, on the east and southeast by the Chenab Riv ...

in Punjab Province. After receiving his education from there, Chaudhry joined the prestigious

Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh Muslim University (abbreviated as AMU) is a Public University, public Central University (India), central university in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan as the Muhammadan Anglo-Orie ...

in 1920, receiving his LLB in Civil law in 1924. Thereafter, Chaudhry returned to

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi Language, Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also Romanization, romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the I ...

and attended the Punjab University's post-graduate school in law and political science. In 1925, Chaudhry obtained his MA in

Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and ...

in 1925, and the advanced LLM in Law and Justice, in 1927. After completing his education, Chaudhry established his law firm in Lahore, advocating for the civil law and liberties, and went back to Gujrat and started practising the civil law.

Political career

Early years (1942-1956)

In 1930, Chaudhry started taking interest in politics and participated in the

1930 Indian general election General elections were held in British India in September 1930."General Election in India Public Apathy", ''The Times'', 26 July 1930, p12, Issue 45575 They were boycotted by the Indian National Congress and marked by public apathy. The newly e ...

for the Gujrat District Board and was elected unopposed. He joined the

Muslim League Muslim League may refer to: Political parties Subcontinent ; British India *All-India Muslim League, Mohammed Ali Jinah, led the demand for the partition of India resulting in the creation of Pakistan. **Punjab Muslim League, a branch of the organ ...

in 1942. In 1945, he was elected from Gujrat as the President of Muslim League. He took part in the

1946 Indian provincial elections Provincial elections were held in British India in January 1946 to elect members of the legislative councils of British Indian provinces. The consummation of British rule in India were the 1945/1946 elections. As minor political parties were el ...

on Muslim League's ticket and played an important role in propagating the ideas of the Muslim League among the people of his area. Upon the

independence of Pakistan The Pakistan Movement ( ur, , translit=Teḥrīk-e-Pākistān) was a political movement in the first half of the 20th century that aimed for the creation of Pakistan from the Muslim-majority areas of British India. It was connected to the pe ...

, he was given the post of Parliamentary Secretary, and was included in

Liaquat Ali Khan Liaquat Ali Khan ( ur, ; 1 October 1895 – 16 October 1951), also referred to in Pakistan as ''Quaid-e-Millat'' () or ''Shaheed-e-Millat'' ( ur, lit=Martyr of the Nation, label=none, ), was a Pakistani statesman, lawyer, political theoris ...

's cabinet, serving as the

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

and

health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organ ...

minister. He further joined Pakistan permanent representative's delegation to the United Nations in 1951. In 1951, he contested the elections of the Punjab Legislative Assembly on the Muslim League ticket and was elected as a member of the Punjab Assembly. In 1952, he represented Pakistan in the United Nations.

Speaker and deputy speaker roles (1956-1972)

In the 1956 elections, he was elected as member of the West Pakistan Assembly. Chaudhry served as the first Speaker of the West Pakistan Legislative Assembly from 20 May 1956 to 7 October 1958. In 1962, when Ayub Khan announced the elections, he was selected as the Deputy Opposition Leader of the House on the basis of his experience and knowledge about parliamentary proceedings. Chaudhry joined the

Convention Muslim League The Convention Muslim League (CML) was a faction of the Pakistan Muslim League that split-off in 1962, in support of the military regime of the President of Pakistan, General Ayub Khan. The opposition party was known as the Council Muslim League ...

, and after the 1965 presidential election, he was elected as the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, a role he served in till 1969. He was elected 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 r ...

in 1970 on the ticket of 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 i ...

, and was later elected as the Speaker of the National Assembly in 1972. He ended up joining the Pakistan Peoples Party.

President of Pakistan (1973-1978)

He contested the Presidential Elections of 1973 against

Khan Amirzadah Khan Khan Amirzadah Khan (15 November 1918 – 13 September 1977) was a member of the Khudai Khidmatgar movement and a leader of the National Awami Party in Pakistan. Born in Bakhshali village, Mardan District in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ...

of NAP and all opposition parties, and was elected President in 1973 (receiving 139 votes against Khan's 45), when the head of the PPP,

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 statesman who served as the fourth ...

was made

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

. He was the first

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...

President of Pakistan. Chaudhry was largely a

figurehead In politics, a figurehead is a person who ''de jure'' (in name or by law) appears to hold an important and often supremely powerful title or office, yet ''de facto'' (in reality) exercises little to no actual power. This usually means that they ...

, and was the first Pakistani President with less power than the Prime Minister. This was due to the new constitution of 1973 that gave more powers to the Prime Minister. Previously, the President had been the chief executive of Pakistan and had the power to appoint

. After Operation Fair Play - a codename of the operation to remove Zulfikar Ali Bhutto from power - Chaudhry continued his presidency but had no influence in the government operations or the

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

and national affairs. After contentious relations with the

, Chaudhry decided to resign from his post despite the urging of the Chief of Army Staff and

Chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the group ...

Joint Chiefs of Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the ...

. On 16 September 1978, Chaudhry handed the charge of the

presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified by ...

to ruling military general

who succeeded him as the sixth president, in addition to being the Chief Martial Law Administrator and the Chief of Army Staff.

Death

Chaudhry died of a heart ailment on 2 June 1982 at the age of 78.

References

External links

Chronicles Of Pakistan
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Chaudhry, Fazal Elahi 1904 births 1982 deaths Aligarh Muslim University alumni First Pakistani Cabinet Pakistan Movement activists People from Kharian Presidents of Pakistan Pakistani landowners Speakers of the National Assembly of Pakistan University of the Punjab alumni Pakistan People's Party politicians Faculty of Law, Aligarh Muslim University alumni Deputy Speakers of the National Assembly of Pakistan Pakistani MNAs 1972–1977 Pakistani MNAs 1962–1965 Punjab, Pakistan MLAs 1951–1955 Members of the Provincial Assembly of West Pakistan Speakers of the Provincial Assembly of West Pakistan