Begum Begum (also begüm, bagum, begom, begam, baigum or beygum) is an honorific title from Central Asia, Central and South Asia, often used by leading women in society, including Royal family, royals, aristocrats, first lady, first ladies and prime ...

Kulsoom Nawaz Sharif (

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 ...

, ; ''

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

'' Butt; 29 March 1948 – 11 September 2018) was a Pakistani politician who was the

Spouse of the Prime Minister of Pakistan First ladies and gentlemen of Pakistan () is an unofficial title traditionally given, often interchangeably, to the wife or husband of the president and prime minister of Pakistan. The current position First Ladies of Pakistan is Aseefa Bhutto Z ...

for three times during the governments of

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 ...

. She was the President of

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 ...

from 1999 to 2002.

Early and personal life

Kulsoom Nawaz was born on 29 March 1948 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 ...

into a Punjabi Kashmiri family to Mohammed Hafiz Butt. Her father was a doctor who ran his own clinic. According to other sources, she was born on 22 March 1948. She attended Islamia College and graduated from the

Forman Christian College Forman Christian College is a private nonprofit Liberal arts college, liberal arts Universities in Pakistan, university in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It was founded in 1864 and is administered by the Presbyterian Church (USA), Presbyterian Church ...

in Lahore. She received a master's degree in

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

from the

University of the Punjab The University of the Punjab (UoP) is a public university, public research university in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan. Founded in 1882, its international influence has made it one of the most prestigious universities in South As ...

in 1970. During her student days she was known for her left-leaning politics, being an admirer of

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979) was a Pakistani barrister and politician who served as the fourth president of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973 and later as the ninth Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan from 19 ...

, while her thesis ''Study of Cultural Awareness in Rajab Ali Baig Saroor’s Era'' was published in a book form in 1985. Kulsoom had two sisters and a brother. From her maternal side, she was the maternal granddaughter of the wrestler

The Great Gama Ghulam Mohammad Baksh Butt (22 May 1878 – 23 May 1960), commonly known by the title Rustam-e-Hind and by the ring name The Great Gama, was a Kashmiri Muslim, pehlwani wrestler and strongman in British India and later, Pakistan. In the ea ...

(born Ghulam Mohammad Baksh Butt). She married

, the three-time

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 ...

, in April 1970. The couple have four children: Maryam, Asma, Hassan and Hussain.

Political career

First Lady of Pakistan

Kulsoom became the first lady of Pakistan for the first time after her husband,

, became Prime Minister of Pakistan on 1 November 1990 when his party,

Islami Jamhoori Ittehad The Islami Jamhuri Ittihad (IJI) was a right-wing conservative alliance formed in September 1988 to oppose the democratic socialist Pakistan Peoples Party in elections that year. The alliance comprised nine parties, of which the major components ...

, won 104 of 207 seats contested in the

1990 Pakistani general election General elections were held in Pakistan on 24 October 1990 to elect the members of the National Assembly. The elections were primarily a contest between the People's Democratic Alliance (PDA, a four party alliance led by the ruling Pakistan Pe ...

. His first term as prime minister ended in July 1993. She became first lady of Pakistan for the second time after Nawaz Sharif became Prime Minister of Pakistan when his party,

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 ...

, won the

1997 Pakistani general election General elections were held in Pakistan on 3 February 1997 to elect the members of National Assembly. The elections were a fierce contest between Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) led by pre-election Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and the Pakistan Mus ...

. His second term as prime minister was ended when then

Chief of Army Staff Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boat ...

General

Pervez Musharraf Pervez Musharraf (11 August 1943 – 5 February 2023) was a Pakistani general and politician who served as the tenth president of Pakistan from 2001 to 2008. Prior to his career in politics, he was a four-star general and appointed as ...

led a

military coup d'état A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

against him on 12 October 1999. Kulsoom was arrested by the Pakistan Army Corps of Military Police and immediately shifted to her local residence. According to her daughter,

Maryam Nawaz Maryam Nawaz Sharif (born 28 October 1973) is a Pakistani politician who has served as the 20th chief minister of Punjab since 26 February 2024. She is the first woman to hold the position of chief minister in Pakistan. Born to former Prime ...

, Kulsoom "dauntlessly challenged the usurper when a lot of men backed out". Nawaz Sharif named his wife as the President of Pakistan Muslim League in 1999. In 2000, she led a public rally from Lahore to

Peshawar Peshawar is the capital and List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is the sixth most populous city of Pakistan, with a district p ...

to gather the public support for the PML-N. Soon after leaving her residence, her car was surrounded by the police and she was detained. Poetry recital in honour of Kalsoom Nawaz Sharif

Poetry recital in honour of Kalsoom Nawaz Sharif

She remained president of the PML-N until 2002. She became the first lady of Pakistan for the third time after Nawaz Sharif became Prime Minister of Pakistan when his party,

, won the

2013 Pakistani general election General elections were held in Pakistan on Saturday 11 May 2013 to elect the members of the List of members of the 14th National Assembly of Pakistan, 14th National Assembly of Pakistan, National Assembly and the four Subdivisions of Pakistan, Pr ...

Electoral politics

Kulsoom was elected to the

National Assembly of Pakistan The National Assembly of Pakistan, also referred to as ''Aiwān-ē-Zairīñ'', is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Pakistan, with the upper house being the Senate of Pakistan, Senate. As of 2023, the National Assem ...

for the first time from NA-120 (Lahore-III) as a candidate of PML (N) in by-polls held in September 2017. She secured 59,413 votes and defeated

Yasmin Rashid Yasmin Rashid ( : born 21 September 1950) is a Pakistani politician and social activist. Rashid held the position of Provincial Minister of Punjab for Primary and Secondary Healthcare and Specialised Healthcare & Medical Education, serving from ...

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. ...

. The NA-120 seat fell vacant after her husband, Nawaz Sharif, was disqualified by the

Supreme Court of Pakistan The Supreme Court of Pakistan (; ''Adālat-e-Uzma Pākistān'') is the apex court in the Judiciary of Pakistan, judicial hierarchy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Established in accordance witPart VIIof the Constitution of Pakistan, it h ...

in the

Panama Papers case The Panama Papers case (officially titled ''Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi v. Muhammad Nawaz Sharif''), or the Panamagate case, was a 2017 landmark decision by the Supreme Court of Pakistan that disqualified Nawaz Sharif, the prime minister of Pakista ...

. She was unable to take oath as member of 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 ...

due to her illness. She was known for maintaining a low profile.

Death and funeral

Nawaz was diagnosed with

lymphoma Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). The name typically refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enlarged lymph node ...

in August 2017 and received treatment in London. She underwent several sessions of

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated chemo, sometimes CTX and CTx) is the type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (list of chemotherapeutic agents, chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) in a standard chemotherapy re ...

and

radiotherapy Radiation therapy or radiotherapy (RT, RTx, or XRT) is a treatment using ionizing radiation, generally provided as part of cancer therapy to either kill or control the growth of malignant cells. It is normally delivered by a linear particle ...

during her illness. In June 2018, Nawaz suffered cardiac arrest and was placed on a

ventilator A ventilator is a type of breathing apparatus, a class of medical technology that provides mechanical ventilation by moving breathable air into and out of the lungs, to deliver breaths to a patient who is physically unable to breathe, or breathi ...

. On 10 September 2018, she was again hospitalised, and died on 11 September 2018 at the age of 70 in London while both her husband and daughter Maryam were serving jail terms in Pakistan; they were granted timed-parole to attend her funeral. On 13 September 2018, a funeral prayer for Nawaz was held in

London Central Mosque The London Central Mosque (also known as the Regent's Park Mosque) is an Islamic place of worship located on the edge of Regent's Park in central London. Design and location It was designed by Sir Frederick Gibberd, completed in 1977, and ...

, after which her body was flown to Lahore. On 14 September 2018, in Lahore, a funeral prayer led by

Maulana Tariq Jameel Tariq Jamil (Punjabi, ; ; born 1 October 1953) is a Pakistani Islamic cleric, preacher and member of the Tablighi Jama'at. The recipient of the Pride of Performance award, Tariq Jamil has been named in ''The 500 Most Influential Muslims'' y ...

was offered at

Sharif Medical City Sharif Medical and Dental College (, also known as Sharif Medical City) is a medical college in Lahore, Punjab (Pakistan), Punjab, Pakistan. Recognition and affiliation * Accredited by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Pakistan. * Aff ...

, and she was buried in Jati Umra.

Books

* ''Study of Cultural Awareness in Rajab Ali Baig Saroor’s Era'', Sang-e-Meel, 1985. * ''Jabar Aur Jamhuriat'' epression and Democracy Sagar Publisher, 2007.

References

{{authority control 1950 births 2018 deaths Pakistan Muslim League (N) politicians Pakistani expatriates in Saudi Arabia Pakistani people of Kashmiri descent Presidents of the Pakistan Muslim League (N) Spouses of prime ministers of Pakistan Forman Christian College alumni University of the Punjab alumni Politicians from Lahore Sharif family Deaths from cancer in England Deaths from lymphoma Pakistani MNAs 2013–2018