List of heads of state of Pakistan

Pakistan
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This is a list of the heads of state of Pakistan, from the foundation of Pakistan in 1947 to the present day. The current head of state of Pakistan is Arif Alvi, nominated by the party run by Prime Minister Imran Khan.

From 1947 to 1956 the head of state under the Indian Independence Act 1947 was the Monarch, who was the same person as the Monarch of the United Kingdom and of the other Dominions/Commonwealth realms. The Monarch was represented in Pakistan by the Governor-General. Pakistan became a republic under the Constitution of 1956 and the Monarch and Governor-General were replaced by a ceremonial President.

Monarch (1947–1956)

The succession to the throne of Pakistan was the same as the succession to the British throne.

№	Monarch (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Reign		Royal House	Prime Minister
			Reign start	Reign end
1	King George VI (1895–1952)		14 August 1947	6 February 1952	Windsor	Khan Nazimuddin
2	Queen Elizabeth II (1926–)		6 February 1952	23 March 1956	Windsor	Nazimuddin Bogra Ali

Governors-General

The Governor-General was the representative of the monarch in Pakistan and exercised most of the powers of the monarch. The Governor-General was appointed for an indefinite term, serving at the pleasure of the monarch. After the passage of the Statute of Westminster 1931, the Governor-General was appointed solely on the advice of the Cabinet of Pakistan without the involvement of the British government. In the event of a vacancy the Chief Justice served as Officer Administering the Government.

Status

  Denotes Chief Justice acting as Officer Administering the Government

№	Governor-General (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Tenure		Monarch	Prime Minister
			Took office	Left office
1	Muhammad Ali Jinnah (1876–1948)		14 August 1947	11 September 1948 (died in office.)	George VI	Khan
2	Sir Khawaja Nazimuddin (1894–1964)		11 September 1948	17 October 1951	George VI	Khan
3	Sir Malik Ghulam Muhammad (1894–1964)		17 October 1951	7 August 1955	George VI Elizabeth II	Nazimuddin Bogra
4	Major-General Iskander Mirza (1899–1969)		7 August 1955	23 March 1956	Elizabeth II	Ali

First Republic (1956–1958)

Under the 1956 Constitution, the first constitution of the Republic of Pakistan, the President replaced the monarch as ceremonial head of state. The President was elected by Electoral College for a five-year term. In the event of a vacancy the Speaker of the National Assembly served as Acting President.

Status

№	President (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Tenure		Elected	Political affiliation (at time of appointment)		Prime Minister
			Took office	Left office
1	Major-General Iskander Mirza (1899–1969)		23 March 1956	27 October 1958 (Deposed)	–		Republican Party	Ali Suhrawardy Chundrigar Noon

Military rule (1958–1971)

General Ayub Khan led a coup d'état which overthrown the President Mirza and his government. In 1962 there was a new Constitution which the President was given executive powers. The President was elected by the public for a five-year term. In the event of a vacancy the Speaker of the National Assembly served as Acting President.

Status

№	President (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Tenure		Elected	Political affiliation (at time of appointment)		Prime Minister
			Took office	Left office
2	Field Marshal Ayub Khan (1907–1974)		27 October 1958	8 June 1962	–		Military	position abolished
			8 June 1962	2 February 1965	–		Convention Muslim League
			2 February 1965	25 March 1969 (resigned.)	1965
3	General Yahya Khan (1917–1980)		23 March 1969	20 December 1971 (resigned.)	–		Military	Amin

Second Republic (1971–1977)

Military rule ended in Pakistan in 1971 after the 1971 War and the rules of the President was the same as the 1962 Constitution. Under the 1973 Constitution, the third and current constitution of the Republic of Pakistan, the President is the ceremonial head of state. The President was elected by Electoral College for a five-year term. In the event of a vacancy the Chairman of the Senate served as Acting President.

Status

№	President (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Tenure		Elected	Political affiliation (at time of appointment)		Prime Minister
			Took office	Left office
4	Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (1928–1979)		20 December 1971	13 August 1973	1971		Pakistan Peoples Party
5	Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry (1904–1982)		14 August 1973	16 September 1978 (resigned.)	1973		Pakistan Peoples Party	Bhutto

Military rule (1978–1988)

General Zia led a coup d'état which overthrown the Prime Minister Bhutto and his government. In 1978 Haq was given the presidency. In the event of a vacancy the Chairman of the Senate served as Acting President.

Status

№	Head of State (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Tenure		Military		Prime Minister
			Took office	Left office
6	General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq (1924–1988)		16 September 1978	17 August 1988 (died in office).		Military	Junejo

Third Republic (1988–2001)

Military rule ended in Pakistan in 1988 after the Death of Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq and the civilian government was restored. There was two periods of Semi-presidential rule, 1988–1993 and 1999–2007 and Parliamentary republic rule 1993–1997. In 1999 a coup d'état deposed Nawaz Sharif and his government, but the President was still in power until 2001. The President was elected by Electoral College for a five-year term. In the event of a vacancy the Chairman of the Senate served as Acting President.

Status

President			Term of office			Political party	Prime Minister(s)
#	Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office	Duration
7		Ghulam Ishaq Khan (1915–2006)	17 August 1988	13 December 1988	4 years, 335 days	Independent	No Prime Minister (May 30, 1988 - Dec 1, 1988) Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto (Dec. 2, 1988 - Aug. 6, 1990) Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi (Caretaker) (Aug. 6, 1990 - Nov. 6, 1990) Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (Nov. 6, 1990 - April 18, 1993) Balkh Sher Mazari (Caretaker) (April 18, 1993 - Oct 19, 1993)
			13 December 1988	18 July 1993 (Resigned)
		Wasim Sajjad (1941–)	18 July 1993	14 November 1993	119 days	Pakistan Muslim League (N)	Moeen Qureshi (Caretaker) (July 18, 1993 - Oct. 19, 1993)
8		Farooq Leghari (1940–2010)	14 November 1993	2 December 1997 (Resigned)	4 years, 18 days	Pakistan Muslim League (N)	Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto (Oct. 19, 1993 - Nov. 5, 1996) Malik Meraj Khalid (Caretaker) (Nov. 5, 1996 - Feb. 17, 1997)
		Wasim Sajjad (1941–)	2 December 1997	1 January 1998	30 days	Pakistan Muslim League (N)	Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (Feb. 17, 1997 - Oct. 12, 1999)
9		Muhammad Rafiq Tarar (1929–)	1 January 1998	20 June 2001 (Resigned)	3 years, 170 days	Pakistan Muslim League (N)	No Prime Minister (Oct 12, 1999 - Nov. 22, 2002) Mir Zafar Ullah Khan Jamali (Nov. 23, 2002 - *)

Military rule (2001–2008)

General Pervez Musharraf led a coup d'état which overthrew Prime Minister Sharif and his government. In 2001 Haq was given the presidency. In the event of a vacancy the Chairman of the Senate served as Acting President.

Status

Head of State			Term of Office			Military
#	Portrait	Name	Took Office	Left Office	Duration
		General Pervez Musharraf (1943–)	20 June 2001	6 October 2007	6 years, 296 days	Military
10
			6 October 2007	8 August 2008 (Resigned)		Pakistan Muslim League (Q)

Fourth Republic (2008–present)

Military rule ended in Pakistan in 2008 after the resignation Pervez Musharraf and the civilian government was restored. The President was elected by Electoral College for a five-year term. In the event of a vacancy the Chairman of the Senate served as Acting President.

Status

President			Term of office			Political party	Prime Minister(s)
#	Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office	Duration
		Muhammad Mian Soomro (1950–)	18 August 2008	9 September 2008	22 days	Pakistan Muslim League (Q)
11		Asif Ali Zardari (1955–)	9 September 2008	8 September 2013	4 years, 364 days	Pakistan Peoples Party	Yusuf Raza Gilani (Mar. 25, 2008 - Jun. 19, 2012) Raja Pervaz Ashraf (Jun. 22, 2012 - Mar. 24, 2013) Mir Hazar Khan Khoso (Mar. 25, 2013 - Jun. 05, 2013)
12		Mamnoon Hussain (1940–)	9 September 2013	8 September 2018	4 years, 364 days	Pakistan Muslim League (N)	Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (Jun. 05, 2013 - Jul. 28, 2017) Shahid Khaqan Abbasi (1 August 2017 – 31 May 2018) Nasirul Mulk (1 June 2018 – 18 August 2018) Imran Khan (Aug 18, 2018 - Present)
13		Arif-ur-Rehman Alvi (1949–)	9 September 2018	Incumbent	34 days (as of 13 October 2018)	Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf	Imran Khan (Aug 18, 2018 - Present)

Living former heads of state

External links

• World Statesmen – Pakistan
• Rulers.org – Pakistan