Sir Malik Feroz Khan Noon (7 May 18939 December 1970) , best known as Feroze Khan, was a Pakistani politician who served as the seventh

prime minister of Pakistan The prime minister of Pakistan (, Roman Urdu, romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Cabinet of Pakistan, cabinet, desp ...

from 16 December 1957, until being removed when the President

Iskandar Ali Mirza Iskander Ali Mirza (13 November 189913 November 1969) was a Bengali politician, statesman and military general who served as the Dominion of Pakistan's fourth and last Governor-General of Pakistan, governor-general of Pakistan from 1955 to 1956, ...

imposed martial law, though he himself got ousted in the 1958 Pakistani military coup. Trained as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

in England, Noon served as High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom before serving as a military adviser, over issues pertaining to the British Indian Army, to Prime Minister

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

's war ministry from the

India Office The India Office was a British government department in London established in 1858 to oversee the administration of the Provinces of India, through the British viceroy and other officials. The administered territories comprised most of the mo ...

. Noon was one of the Founding Fathers of Pakistan who helped to negotiate and establish the Federation of Pakistan as a nation-state on 14 August 1947, resulting from the successful constitutional movement led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

Early life and education

Feroz Khan Noon was born in the village of Hamoka, located in Khushab District,

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 ...

in the then

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

on 7 May 1893 into a Punjabi family. He came from an aristocratic landowning Rajput family that were known for their wealth and reputation in social circles. The family traces its roots back to a Rajput prince named Raja Ganj and has provided political elite and military officials from the times of Ranjit Singh, Noon's ancestors having served in Ranjit Singh's army. His father Nawab Malik Sir Muhammad Hayat Khan Noon was a nominated member of the

Council of State A council of state is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head ...

from 1935 to 1937 while his cousin Malik Sardar Khan Noon was a politician as well. After his initial schooling, Noon attended Aitchison College in

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

before being sent to England in 1912. The India Office arranged for him to stay with the family of a Reverend Lloyd in Ticknall,

South Derbyshire South Derbyshire is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Derbyshire, England. The district covers the towns of Melbourne, Derbyshire, Melbourne and Swadlincote as well as numerous villages and hamlets such as Hilton, Derbys ...

. From there he applied to study at

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

, initially being rejected by Balliol College, he was then accepted by Wadham College. Noon stayed with Lloyd's family until 1913, and had a close relationship with them until going to

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. Noon graduated from Wadham College with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in history in 1916. He was a keen soccer player and played collegiate

field hockey Field hockey (or simply referred to as hockey in some countries where ice hockey is not popular) is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goalk ...

for Isis Club. He interacted with very few Indian students while at university, heeding his father's advice to learn English culture, and lacked time to attend any Indian cultural festivals because he was concentrating on his studies. His sojourn in Britain left in him a lifelong admiration for Britain and during his career within the Pakistani state, he was always known to be an Anglophile. After graduation, Noon moved to London to sit the law examination. He qualified as a barrister-at-law from the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

in 1917 before returning to India.

Political career

Law practice and legislative career in India

Noon returned to India in September 1917, and in January 1918 began practising law at the

District Court District courts are a category of courts which exists in several nations, some call them "small case court" usually as the lowest level of the hierarchy. These courts generally work under a higher court which exercises control over the lower co ...

in Sargodha. He later moved to the Lahore High Court, establishing his reputation in civil law until 1927. In 1920–21, Noon entered national politics and was elected to the

Punjab Legislative Assembly The Punjab Legislative Assembly or the Punjab Vidhan Sabha is the unicameral legislature of the state of Punjab (India), Punjab in India. The Sixteenth Punjab Legislative Assembly was constituted in March 2022. At present, it consists of 117 M ...

on the platform of the Unionist Party. During this time, he formed a close acquaintance with Jogendra Singh. From 1927 until 1931, he joined the cabinet of the Governor of Punjab, Malcolm Hailey and held the portfolio of provincial Ministry of

Local Government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

until 1930. Between 1931 and 1936, Noon was in the cabinets of Governors Geoffrey Fitzhervey de Montmorency, Sir Sikandar Hyat, and Herbert William Emerson where he held provincial portfolios of Ministries of Health and Education. In December 1932, Noon was appointed as an Officer of the Venerable Order of Saint John. In 1933, Noon was knighted in the 1933 New Year Honours List. He was appointed as Knight Commander of the

Order of the Indian Empire The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes: #Knight Grand Commander (:Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire, ...

(KCIE) in the 1937 Coronation Honours List and appointed as Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of India (KCSI) in October 1941.

Diplomatic career: World War II and Pakistan Movement

In 1936, Noon resigned from his public service in Punjab when he was appointed as the High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom. Over the issue of the

Immigration Act of 1924 The Immigration Act of 1924, or Johnson–Reed Act, including the Asian Exclusion Act and National Origins Act (), was a United States federal law that prevented immigration from Asia and set quotas on the number of immigrants from every count ...

in the United States, the

British Government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

directed Noon to Washington D.C. He was accompanied by Nevile Butler of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1941 to address issues of American exploration in Baluchistan, and the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status between the United States and the United Kingdom, in light of the Anglo-American Trade Agreement signed in 1938. Noon showed great reluctance to grant American petroleum companies access to Baluchistan due to the Indian government's difficulty maintaining control in remote areas adjacent to

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

, especially when Indians were being barred from entering the United States. After the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in 1939, Noon, who had pro-British views, supported British efforts against the

Axis powers The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies of World War II, Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Ge ...

, lobbying for deployment of the British Indian Army in Africa and the Middle East. In 1940, he strongly supported Egyptian plans to establish the grand mosque in London. During the height of the anti-British Quit India Movement in India, Noon played a crucial role by convincing Prime Minister

of the support of

Indian Muslim Islam is India's Religion in India, second-largest religion, with 14.2% of the country's population, or approximately 172.2 million people, identifying as adherents of Islam in a 2011 census. India also has the Islam by country, third-larg ...

s for continued British rule there. Khan later joined the

Viceroy's Executive Council The Viceroy's Executive Council, formerly known as Council of Four and officially known as the Council of the Governor-General of India (since 1858), was an advisory body and cabinet of the Governor-General of India, also known as Viceroy. It exis ...

's cabinet as a labour minister, and played a crucial role in advising against the

Independence of India The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic ...

, without addressing the push of Muhammad Ali Jinnah and other leaders for the Muslim question. In 1944–45, Churchill appointed Noon to the War Department, leading his own department alongside Sir Arcot Ramasamy Mudaliar that provided representation for British India in the Pacific War Council. In 1945, he was appointed as Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations, attending the first UN session in San Francisco, California. By late 1945, it became clear that the new Labour government in Britain intended to transfer power and leave India. The impending loss of their British allies weakened the Unionist Party, and Noon joined others in defecting to the Muslim League. His departure was an important one, and encouraged more members to switch parties. The bolstered Muslim League won the 1945-46 Indian general election by a landslide in the Punjab.

Governorship of East Bengal and Chief Minister of Punjab

In 1947, Noon retained his constituency and became a Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan (MNA) of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan, following the establishment of Pakistan as a result of the

Partition of India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...

. In October 1947, Jinnah, now

Governor-General of Pakistan The governor-general of Pakistan () was the Political representation, representative of the Monarchy of Pakistan, Pakistani monarch in the Dominion of Pakistan, established by the Indian Independence Act 1947. The office of governor-general was ...

, appointed Noon as a special envoy and dispatched him to

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

and the

Islamic world The terms Islamic world and Muslim world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs, politics, and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is ...

to introduce Pakistan and explain the reasons for its creation, to familiarize the Muslim countries with its internal problems, and to get moral and financial support from the brother countries. Noon performed the role assigned to him in a successful manner. In 1950, Prime Minister

Liaquat Ali Khan Liaquat Ali Khan (1 October 189516 October 1951) was a Pakistani lawyer, politician and statesman who served as the first prime minister of Pakistan The prime minister of Pakistan (, Roman Urdu, romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the he ...

removed Feroz Noon from the Foreign Ministry, appointing him as the Governor of East Bengal. However, he was less interested in the politics of

East Bengal East Bengal (; ''Purbô Bangla/Purbôbongo'') was the eastern province of the Dominion of Pakistan, which covered the territory of modern-day Bangladesh. It consisted of the eastern portion of the Bengal region, and existed from 1947 until 195 ...

and focused towards the provincial politics of

in Pakistan, contesting with Mumtaz Daultana for the post of

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...

. He had little interest in strengthening the political program of the Muslim League in Bengal and offered no political action when the popular Bengali Language Movement took place in 1950–51. On 25 July 1952, he returned to Punjab in Pakistan and left the post to Abdur Rahman Siddiqui, returning to his post on 10 November 1952. Noon left Dhaka to become the Chief Minister of Punjab on 26 March 1953. After the 1953 religious riots in Lahore that resulted in Daultana's resignation, Noon was appointed Chief Minister of Punjab.

Foreign ministry in coalition administration

In 1955, Noon parted from the Muslim League when he helped to establish the Republican Party, supporting the cause of the One Unit programme that laid establishment of West and East wings of Pakistan. He took over the presidency of the Republican Party, and joined the

coalition A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political, military, or economic spaces. Formation According to ''A G ...

of the three-party government composed of, the

Awami League The Awami League, officially known as Bangladesh Awami League, is a major List of political parties in Bangladesh, political party in Bangladesh. The oldest existing political party in the country, the party played the leading role in achievin ...

, the Muslim League, and the Republican Party that endorsed Iskander Mirza for the presidency. Noon had been ideologically very close to Mirza and was appointed in the coalition cabinet of Prime Minister Huseyn Suhrawardy. In 1956–57, Noon attempted to hold talks with India over the Kashmir issue, and insurgency in Eastern India, but was unable to make any breakthrough.

Prime Minister of Pakistan (1957-58)

After the resignations of the

's Huseyn Suhrawardy and the Muslim League's I. I. Chundrigar, Noon was the last candidate from the three-party coalition government, and started his support for the premiership on a

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 ...

-Republican Party agenda. Noon successfully forged an alliance with the Awami League, the National Awami Party, the Krishak Sramik Party, and the parliamentary groups in 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 repr ...

that allowed him to form the government as its Prime Minister. Malik Feroz Khan Noon

Negotiation for Gwadar

On 16 December 1957, Noon took an oath from Chief Justice M. Munir and formed a coalition government. During this time, Noon entered into complicated but successful negotiations with the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman for the cession of Gwadar, which was taken into the Federation of Pakistan on 8 September 1958, for the price of . Noon's ability to get Gwadar into the Federation, and settlement of political issues in the country generally, threatened President Mirza who saw him as an obstacle to Mirza obtaining absolute power. Noon tried to obtain a compromise with India regarding the Kashmir problem. Gwadar satellite view

In his memoirs, ''From Memory'', Noon writes, "With Gwadar in foreign hands, I had felt we were living in a house in which the back room with another door, was occupied by a stranger who could, at any time, sell us out to a power inimical to Pakistan...". The wife of Feroz Khan Noon, Viqar-un-Nisa Noon, also played a large role in the accession of Gwadar to Pakistan. She visited

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in 1956 to see the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and to lobby the British Parliament for their protectorate of Muscat and Oman to give custody of 'Gwadar Port' 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# ...

, and get approval from the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

. Noon had not endorsed the presidential re-election of Mirza as the three-party coalition had been negotiating their own president to replace Mirza in 1958. At midnight on 7/8 October 1958, Mirza imposed

martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...

in a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

against his own party's government, effectively dismissing his own appointed Prime Minister to usurp all political power into his own hands.

Later and personal life, and death

After the 1958 Pakistani coup d'état, Noon retired from national politics and became a political writer. He authored five books on the history of India and issues pertaining to law and politics in Pakistan. Noon was married to Viqar-un-Nisa Noon, an

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n, who was a prominent politician and a social worker by profession. He died on 7 December 1970 in his ancestral village of Nurpur Noon,

Sargodha District Sargodha District (Punjabi language, Punjabi and ), is a district of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan. The capital of the district is Sargodha. It is an agricultural district with wheat, rice, sugarcane and kinnow being its main crops. The Sa ...

, where he is buried.

Books

* ''Wisdom From Fools'' (1940), short stories for children. * ''Scented Dust'' (1941), a novel.''Current Biography Yearbook'', 1958, Page 411 * ''India'' (1941) * ''Kashmir'' (1957) * ''From Memory'' (1966), autobiography.

References

Notes

External links

*
Chronicles Of Pakistan
* , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Noon, Feroz Khan 1893 births 1970 deaths People from Khushab District Aitchison College alumni Alumni of Wadham College, Oxford Indian barristers High commissioners of India to the United Kingdom Knights Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire Knights Commander of the Order of the Star of India Indian knights Anti-Americanism Historians of India Indian people of World War II Permanent representatives of India to the United Nations Politicians from Lahore Leaders of the Pakistan Movement Pakistani MNAs 1947–1954 Pakistani barristers Pakistani diplomats Governors of East Pakistan Pakistan Muslim League politicians Chief ministers of Punjab, Pakistan Pakistani MNAs 1955–1958 Pakistani republicans Ministers for foreign affairs of Pakistan Ministers of defence of Pakistan Feroz Prime ministers of Pakistan 20th-century Pakistani memoirists Pakistani autobiographers Pakistani political writers Punjab, Pakistan MLAs 1947–1949 Punjab, Pakistan MLAs 1951–1955 20th-century memoirists People from Punjab Province (British India) Officers_of_the_Order_of_St_John