Abdullah Hussain Haroon (; born 21 October 1950) is a

Pakistani Pakistanis (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. As much as ...

politician, and businessman who served as

Foreign Minister of Pakistan The Minister for Foreign Affairs (or simply the Foreign Minister) is the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of Pakistan. The minister oversees the federal government's foreign policy and International relations. Their resp ...

in the Mulk caretaker ministry. He previously served as the Speaker of

Sindh Assembly The Provincial Assembly of Sindh is a unicameral legislature of elected representatives of the Pakistani province of Sindh, and is located in Karachi, its provincial capital. It was established under Article 106 of the Constitution of Pakistan ...

and

Pakistan Ambassador to the United Nations The Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations () is Pakistan's diplomatic representative to the United Nations (UN). The permanent Representative ( UN ambassador) is the head of Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the United Nat ...

from September 2008 to October 2012. A scion of the Haroon family, he is a businessman, social activist and a former

speaker who was a board member of various educational institutes, sports associations and charity organisations.

Early life and education

Hussain Haroon is the son of Saeed Haroon, elder brother of

Hameed Haroon Pakistan Herald Limited, commonly known as the Dawn Media Group, is a Pakistani media company based in Karachi, Sindh. It publishes the ''Dawn'' newspaper and operates a TV channel, radio stations and websites. It is a listed member of All Pa ...

and grandson of Sir Abdullah Haroon, a politician, who

Muhammad Ali Jinnah Muhammad Ali Jinnah (born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 187611 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 inception of Pa ...

called one of the strongest pillars of the

All-India Muslim League The All-India Muslim League (AIML) was a political party founded in 1906 in Dhaka, British India with the goal of securing Muslims, Muslim interests in South Asia. Although initially espousing a united India with interfaith unity, the Muslim L ...

. He belongs to a well-known Kutchhi family hailed from

Kutchh Kutch district (), officially spelled Kachchh is a district of Gujarat state in western India, with its headquarters (capital) at Bhuj. Covering an area of 45,674 km2, it is the largest district of India. The area of Kutch is larger than ...

in the neighbouring Indian state of

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

, settled in Karachi many years prior to

independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

in 1947. He completed his education from

Karachi Grammar School Karachi Grammar School is an independent, English-medium school located in 3 different campuses across Karachi. The main and oldest campus is located in Saddar, Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. It is a highly selective, coeducational day school (formerl ...

about the same time as

Benazir Bhutto Benazir Bhutto (21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990, and again from 1993 to 1996. She was also the first woman elected to head a democratic governmen ...

did, and later he finished his education at the

University of Karachi The University of Karachi (; informally Karachi University, KU, or UoK) is a public research university located in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Established in June 1951 by an act of Parliament and as a successor to the University of Sindh (which is ...

Career

Haroon began his early career in public service as election Coordinator for

Pakistan Muslim League The Pakistan Muslim League (; known as PML), is the name of several different Pakistani political parties that have dominated the centre-right platform in the country. The ''Muslim League'' (the original successor of the All-India Muslim ...

in 1970. Later he served as Councilor,

Karachi Metropolitan Corporation Karachi Metropolitan Corporation () is a public corporation and governing body to provide municipal services in most of Karachi, the capital of Sindh. History 1846 Karachi Conservancy Board was established to control cholera epidemics in ...

(KMC) (1979–1985); Trustee

Karachi Port Trust The Karachi Port Trust (KPT) () is a Government of Pakistan, Pakistani federal government agency, under the administrative control of the Maritime Secretary of Pakistan, Federal Maritime Secretary that oversees the operations of the Port of Ka ...

(KPT) (1980–1982); Member

Provincial Assembly of Sindh The Provincial Assembly of Sindh is a unicameral legislature of elected representatives of the Pakistani province of Sindh, and is located in Karachi, its provincial capital. It was established under Article 106 of the Constitution of Pakis ...

(1985–1988), Speaker, Provincial Assembly of Sindh (1985–1986); and leader of opposition,

(1986–1988). Hussain Haroon has also served as Consultant, Pakistan Herald Publications Limited (PHPL) (1988–1989); delegate to the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...

; Member to the Board of Governors,

Institute of Business Administration, Karachi The Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi; (انسٹيٹيوٹ آف بزنس ايڈمنسٹريشن) is a public university in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. IBA is owned by Government of Sindh. Established initially as a business scho ...

(1996–1999); Director Board of Directors

Karachi Electric Supply Corporation K-Electric Limited (KE), formerly known as Karachi Electric Supply Company Limited or Karachi Electric Supply Corporation Limited, is a Pakistani utility company based in Karachi. Privatised in 2005, KE is the only vertically integrated utili ...

(KESC) (1997–1999); Chairman, Griffith College Karachi (1999–2005) and President, Pakistan-China Business Forum (1999–2004). He is the president of English Speaking Union of Pakistan and also has the distinction of being the youngest president of the elite Sind Club. Haroon was given the portfolios of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Security Division, Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Defence Production on 5 June 2018 to assist the

Caretaker Prime Minister of Pakistan The caretaker prime minister of Pakistan () is the acting head of government, head of the Caretaker government of Pakistan, Caretaker Government in Pakistan following the Dissolution of parliament, dissolution of the National Assembly of Pakistan, ...

Nasirul Mulk Nasirul Mulk (; ; born 17 August 1950) is a Pakistani jurist and politician who served as the seventh caretaker prime minister of Pakistan in 2018, and previously also served as the 22nd chief justice of Pakistan from 2014 to 2015. A juri ...

in managing the country till the

2018 Pakistani general election General elections were held in Pakistan on 25 July 2018 to elect the members of the 15th National Assembly and the four Provincial Assemblies. The three major parties were Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), led by Imran Khan, the Pakistan Muslim ...

. He was given the oath of office by the

President of Pakistan The president of Pakistan () is the head of state of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The president is the nominal head of the executive and the supreme commander of the Pakistan Armed Forces.

on 5 June 2018.

Social activism

Haroon has demanded the establishment of a town on the outskirts of

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

and proposed that it be named after late

. His suggestion was that up to six million people from the interior

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

be settled there. He was also part of the protest against real estate development in

Bundal Island Bundal Island (; ), also known as ''Bundle Island'' or ''Bhandar Island'', is an uninhabited island situated southeast of Karachi's peninsular area known as Defence, along the Arabian Sea coastline. Spanning approximately 24km², it is part of ...

by UAE-based

Emaar Properties Emaar Properties (or simply Emaar) is an Emirati real estate development company located in the United Arab Emirates. The two largest shareholders are Dubai ruler Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and the UAE's sovereign wealth fund Investment Corpor ...

. Haroon is also known to have ably advocated the Sindh case against the

Kalabagh Dam The Kalabagh Dam () is a proposed hydroelectric dam on the Indus River at Kalabagh in the Mianwali District of Punjab, Pakistan. The dam, first proposed in 1950s, has been intensely debated along ethnic and regional lines for several decades. ...

. In 2017, he had become disillusioned with his former political party's leadership,

Pakistan Peoples Party The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is a political party in Pakistan and one of the three major List of political parties in Pakistan, Pakistani political parties alongside the Pakistan Muslim League (N) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. With a Cent ...

and was leaving himself open to negotiations to join other Pakistani political parties and also left open the possibility for himself of contesting for a position in the upcoming general elections in Pakistan in 2018.

Ambassador to UN

In August 2008, Hussain Haroon was appointed as the Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

, replacing veteran Munir Akram. The appointment was controversial because Haroon had no prior experience in the Pakistan Foreign Service or international diplomacy. He took over the post on 3 September 2008.

Masood Khan Masood Khan () is a retired Pakistani-Kashmiri diplomat who served as Pakistan's Ambassador to the United States. Khan also served as the 27th President of Azad Kashmir. Khan joined the Foreign Service of Pakistan in 1980. From August 2003 to ...

, a career diplomat took over from Hussain Haroon on 1 January 2013.

References

External links

Profile of Ambassador Hussain Haroon at Pakistan Mission To UN website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haroon, Hussain 1950 births Living people Memon people Speakers of the Provincial Assembly of Sindh Pakistani people of Iranian descent

Hussain Hussein, Hossein, Hussain, Hossain, Huseyn, Husayn, Husein, Hussin, Hoessein, Houcine, Hocine or Husain (; ), coming from the triconsonantal root Ḥ-S-N (), is an Arabic name which is the diminutive of Hassan, meaning "good", "handsome" or ...

Permanent representatives of Pakistan to the United Nations Karachi Grammar School alumni University of Karachi alumni Politicians from Karachi Businesspeople from Karachi Ministers for foreign affairs of Pakistan Sindh MPAs 1985–1988