Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar () 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 ...

and former British politician who served as the 38th and 40th Governor of Punjab, from 2013 to 2015 and from 2018 to 2022. In his first term, he represented the

Pakistan Muslim League (N) The Pakistan Muslim League (N) or (PML(N)) is a Centre-right politics, centre-right, Conservatism in Pakistan, conservative political party in Pakistan. It is currently the third-largest party in the Senate of Pakistan, Senate and the larges ...

. In his second term, he represented the

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is a political party in Pakistan established in 1996 by cricketer and politician Imran Khan, who served as the country's prime minister from 2018 to 2022. The party is led by Gohar Ali Khan since late 2023. ...

. He was a member of the

Senate of Pakistan The Senate of Pakistan, Constitution of Pakistan, constitutionally the House of the Federation, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Pakistan. As of 2023, It has a maximum membership of 96, of which 92 are elected by the Member of th ...

from March 2018 until September 2018. From 1997 to 2010 Sarwar was a Member of Parliament in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, representing the constituency of Glasgow Central in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. He is the father of

Anas Sarwar Anas Sarwar (born 14 March 1983) is a Scottish Labour and Co-operative Party, Co-operative politician who has served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party since 2021 Scottish Labour leadership election, 2021. He has been a Member of the Scottis ...

, the current leader of the

Scottish Labour Party Scottish Labour (), is the part of the UK Labour Party active in Scotland. Ideologically social democratic and unionist, it holds 23 of 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament and 37 of 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons. It is repres ...

. Born in Pirmahal,

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

, Sarwar moved to Scotland in 1976 and built up a chain of

cash and carry Cash and carry (or inspect and pay) is a type of operation within the wholesale sector. Overview The main features of cash and carry are summarized best by the following definitions: *Cash and carry is a form of trade in which goods are sold ...

stores. Sarwar served as the

Scottish Labour Scottish Labour (), is the part of the UK Labour Party (UK), Labour Party active in Scotland. Ideologically social democratic and Unionism in the United Kingdom, unionist, it holds 23 of 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament and 37 of 57 Sco ...

Member of Parliament for Glasgow Central from 1997 to 2010 and retired from UK politics in 2010. During his tenure at

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

, Sarwar served on the

Scottish Affairs Select Committee The Scottish Affairs Select Committee is a Select committee (United Kingdom), select committee of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the committee is to examine the ...

, and his youngest son

, who currently leads the

, served as MP for the same constituency from 2010 to 2015. He was the first

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom. He relinquished UK citizenship in July 2013 and became Governor of Punjab, representing the

. He resigned from the position on 29 January 2015 after disagreeing with the government's foreign policy. He joined the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on 10 February 2015. He was a member of the

from March to September 2018. He was appointed to a second term as Governor of Punjab in September 2018.

Early and family life

Mohammad Sarwar was born on 1 January 1950 to a

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

Arain Arain (also known as Raeen) are a large Punjabi Muslim agricultural community with a strong political identity and level of organisation. At the beginning of the last century, they numbered around 1 million and were mainly rural cultivator ...

family in Sain De Khuie, a village near

Lyallpur Faisalabad, formerly known as Lyallpur, is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, second-largest city and primary List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, industrial center of the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan ...

(now Faisalabad), Pakistan. His family migrated from Jalandhar in 1947. In 1976 Sarwar moved to Scotland. That year he married Perveen Sarwar, with whom he has three sons and one daughter. In 1982 Sarwar and his brother founded United Wholesale Grocers, a

wholesale Wholesaling or distributing is the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers; to industrial, commercial, institutional or other professional business users; or to other wholesalers (wholesale businesses) and related subordinated services. In ...

business. In 2002 the brothers split the business, with Sarwar renaming his part as United Wholesale (Scotland) while his brother retained the previous name. His eldest son was accused of an £850,000

missing trader fraud Missing trader fraud (also called missing trader intra-community fraud or MTIC fraud) involves the non-payment of Value Added Tax (VAT) to a government by fraudsters who exploit VAT rules, most commonly the European Union VAT rules which provide ...

in United Wholesale (Scotland) while he was

managing director A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

in 2003. In 2011 the Court of Criminal Appeal overturned his 2007 conviction in the case. Mohammad Sarwar was a remunerated director of the company.

British political career

Mohammad Sarwar MP Constituency Office - geograph

Sarwar first stood as a Labour councillor for

Pollokshields East Pollokshields East was a police burgh in Scotland that had a brief independent existence in the 19th century. The burgh was created within the Govan parish in the county of Renfrewshire in 1880. Bartholomew's ''Gazetteer of the British Isles'' ( ...

at the 1987

Glasgow City Council Glasgow City Council (Scottish Gaelic: ''Comhairle Baile Ghlaschu'') is the Local government in Scotland, local government authority for Glasgow, Glasgow City council area, Scotland. In its modern form it was created in 1996. Glasgow was former ...

election, almost overturning a large

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

majority. In the 1992 election he won the ward. Sarwar was elected as MP for Glasgow Govan at the 1997 general election, becoming the first

MP in the United Kingdom and the first Asian MP elected to represent a Scottish constituency. He was the first MP to swear the

Oath of Allegiance An oath of allegiance is an oath whereby a subject or citizen acknowledges a duty of allegiance and swears loyalty to a monarch or a country. In modern republics, oaths are sworn to the country in general, or to the country's constitution. For ...

on the

Qur'an The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God ('' Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides ...

, using the method laid out by the

Oaths Act 1978 The Oaths Act 1978 (c. 19) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Part I of the act applies to England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Section 1 provides that an oath may be administered by the person taking the oath holding the New ...

. Sarwar was suspended from holding office within the Labour Party in 1997 when he was charged with electoral offences, but he was acquitted in 1999 and the suspension was lifted. He was re-elected in Glasgow Govan at the 2001 general election. The 2005 general election saw boundary changes in Scotland, so he stood at and won the new constituency of Glasgow Central. He faced an opponent from the

far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...

British National Party The British National Party (BNP) is a Far-right politics, far-right, British fascism, fascist list of political parties in the United Kingdom, political party in the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in Wigton, Cumbria, and is led by Adam ...

, with whom he refused to share a platform, and he persuaded other candidates to do the same. The returning officer announced the result from a platform with no candidates, and Sarwar later made a speech from the floor of the hall. Sarwar became a member of the

from 2004, and was chairman since 2005. In August 2006, he was a signatory to an open letter to then-

Prime Minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...

criticising UK foreign policy. Sarwar played a crucial role in bringing to justice the killers of fifteen-year-old Glasgow schoolboy, Kriss Donald. The killers fled to

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# ...

, which has no extradition treaty with the UK. Through his political connections, Sarwar was able to agree a one-off, no conditions attached, extradition treaty. They then faced trial and were convicted for the murder. On 21 June 2007, Sarwar announced he would not stand for re-election at the 2010 general election. His son,

, succeeded him as Labour MP for the Glasgow Central seat until the election of 2015 when it was taken by

Alison Thewliss Alison Emily Thewliss (born 13 September 1982) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician. She was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Glasgow Central from the May 2015 general election until 2024. Before being elected to Westminster, Thewl ...

for the SNP. In November 2008, Sarwar was one of 18 MPs who signed a Commons motion backing a Team GB football team at the 2012 Olympic Games, saying football "should not be any different from other competing sports and our young talent should be allowed to show their skills on the world stage". His nomination by outgoing Prime Minister,

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. Previously, he was Chancellor of the Ex ...

for a

life peerage In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

in the

2010 Dissolution Honours The 2010 Dissolution Honours List was issued on 28 May 2010 at the advice of the outgoing Prime Minister, Gordon Brown. The list was gazetted on 15 June. Life peerages Conservative * Timothy Eric Boswell, former Whip and Parliamentary secret ...

was blocked by the

House of Lords Appointments Commission The House of Lords Appointments Commission (HOLAC) is an independent advisory non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom with oversight of some aspects of the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It has two roles: to recommend at least two peopl ...

on the advice of

HM Revenue and Customs His Majesty's Revenue and Customs (commonly HM Revenue and Customs, or HMRC, and formerly Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs) is a department of the UK government responsible for the collection of taxes, the payment of some forms of stat ...

. In May 2021, shortly before the

2021 Scottish Parliament election The 2021 Scottish Parliament election took place on 6 May 2021 under the provisions of the Scotland Act 1998. It was the sixth Scottish Parliament election since the parliament was re-established in 1999. 129 Member of the Scottish Parliament, ...

, Scottish Pakistani voters received campaign messages on

WhatsApp WhatsApp (officially WhatsApp Messenger) is an American social media, instant messaging (IM), and voice-over-IP (VoIP) service owned by technology conglomerate Meta. It allows users to send text, voice messages and video messages, make vo ...

, allegedly from Sarwar, urging them to vote for

, led by his son,

Pakistani political career

Sarwar established the Sarwar Foundation in 2000, which focuses on provision of healthcare, clean water, education and women empowerment in Pakistan. He campaigned and fundraised in Britain for the centre-right conservative party

during the 2013 general election in Pakistan. Soon after

chief

Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who served as the 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms, first serving from 1990 to 1993, then ...

was sworn in as prime minister, he showed his intentions to become governor of Pakistan's most populous province

. On 5 August 2013, he was sworn in as the 31st Governor of Punjab. He resigned as governor of

on 29 January 2015. On 8 February 2015, Sarwar joined

(PTI). On 3 March 2018, Sarwar was elected to the

on a general seat from

after receiving 44 first priority and two second priority votes in the senate elections of that year. On 5 September 2018 Sarwar took oath as 33rd Governor of Punjab in the PTI Punjab administration. On 3 April 2022, amidst a constitutional crisis in Punjab, Sarwar was removed from the position of Governor of Punjab by the federal government and was replaced with Omar Sarfraz Cheema. His removal followed complaints from

Parvez Elahi Chaudhry Parvez Elahi Warraich (Urdu, ; born 1 November 1945) is a Pakistani politician who was the Chief Minister of Punjab from late 2002 to late 2007 and again from late 2022 to early 2023. He was a member of the Provincial Assembly of ...

that he was not cooperative with PTI's allies. Afterward, he criticized the PTI leadership and left the party. He then joined the

Pakistan Muslim League (Q) The Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid e Azam Group) ; ''Pākistān Muslim Līg (Qāf)'', Acronyms: PML(Q), PML-Q, PMLQ, "Q League" (officially registered as the Pakistan Muslim League) is a political party in Pakistan. As of the 2024 parliamentary e ...

, and left (PMLQ) in early 2024.

Personal life

Sarwar is a supporter of Glasgow Celtic Football Club

Notes

References

External links

*
Mohammad Sarwar
TheyWorkForYou.com
MP to quit over race case death threats
The Guardian, 22 June 2007 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sarwar, Chaudhry Mohammad Living people Scottish Labour MPs Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Glasgow constituencies UK MPs 1997–2001 UK MPs 2001–2005 UK MPs 2005–2010 Pakistani emigrants to Scotland Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom Governors of Punjab, Pakistan Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf politicians Pakistan Muslim League (N) politicians People from Toba Tek Singh District Scottish emigrants to Pakistan Scottish people of Punjabi descent Scottish politicians Pollokshields Year of birth missing (living people)