Jalil Abbas Jilani is a retired Pakistani diplomat who served in Grade 22 as the

Foreign Secretary of Pakistan The Foreign Secretary of Pakistan (Urdu: ) is the Federal Secretary (Pakistan), Federal Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Pakistan), Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Secretary, as in all other ministries of Government of Pakistan, is ...

. He is former Caretaker

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

, he served in office from 17 August 2023 till 4 March 2024. He was born on February 3, 1955, in

Multan Multan is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, fifth-most populous city in the Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab province of Pakistan. Located along the eastern bank of the Chenab River, it is the List of cities in Pakistan by populatio ...

to a family known for high-profile

bureaucrat A bureaucrat is a member of a bureaucracy and can compose the administration of any organization of any size, although the term usually connotes someone within an institution of government. The term ''bureaucrat'' derives from "bureaucracy", wh ...

s. He served as the 22nd Ambassador of Pakistan to the United States from December 2013 to February 2017, and previously served as the

from March 2012 to December 2013. He has also served as a senior director at the Centre for Aerospace and Security Studies (CASS).

Early life and education

Jilani was born into an influential family in

, his father Azhar Hussain Jilani and his elder brother Asghar Hussain Jilani both having been civil servants, the latter having served as Chief Secretary of the Punjab province, while former prime minister

Yusuf Raza Gilani Yusuf Raza Gilani (born 9 June 1952) is a Pakistani politician who served as the 16th prime minister of Pakistan from 2008 to 2012. He is currently serving as the Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan since 2024. Chairman Gilani served as the acti ...

is his cousin. His uncle Tassadaq Jilani is the former

Chief Justice of Pakistan The chief justice of Pakistan ( initials as CJP; , ''Munsif-e-Āzam Pākistān'') is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and is the highest-ranking officer of the Pakistani judiciary. The Federal Court of Pakistan was establis ...

, occupying the position in 2013–2014. He graduated with a Bachelor of Law from Punjab University Law College and later on obtained an M.Sc degree in Defense and Strategic Studies. He then joined the Foreign Service of Pakistan in March 1979. A polyglot, besides Urdu and English, he’s also fluent in French, Arabic, Seraiki, Punjabi and Pashto.

Career

Jillani currently serves as a Minister in Interim PM Kakar’s Cabinet. He served as the deputy secretary at Prime Minister's Office between 1989 and 1992, and as the deputy high commissioner to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

between 1999 and 2003. He headed the South Asia desk at the Foreign Office between 2003 and 2007, during which time he was also appointed the Ministry's Spokesman. In 2007, he was commissioned as Pakistan's High Commissioner to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and served until 2009, when he was tasked as Ambassador of Pakistan to

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

based out of

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

. Jilani was promoted to the highest rank of BPS-22 grade in 2010 and consequently became the country's Foreign Secretary in March 2012, the top civil service official in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Jilani emerged as a candidate for the role of Interim Prime Minister of Pakistan.

References

1955 births Living people Ambassadors of Pakistan to the United States Foreign secretaries of Pakistan Alumni of the University of Oxford Ministers for foreign affairs of Pakistan {{Pakistan-diplomat-stub