Mohammad Ikramullah KCMG (hon), CIE (15 January 1903 – 12 September 1963) was a figure in the administration of

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

at the time of

independence of Pakistan The Pakistan Movement ( ur, , translit=Teḥrīk-e-Pākistān) was a political movement in the first half of the 20th century that aimed for the creation of Pakistan from the Muslim-majority areas of British India. It was connected to the p ...

on 14 August 1947. As a member of the provisional government of Pakistan, before the independence, he was Secretary and Advisor at the Ministries of Commerce, Information and Broadcasting, Commonwealth Relations and Foreign Affairs. He was also a member of Muslim League partition committee and a close companion of

Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah Muhammad Ali Jinnah (, ; born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 1876 – 11 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 ...

. After independence, he was appointed the first

Foreign Secretary of Pakistan The Foreign Secretary of Pakistan (Urdu: ) is the Federal Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Secretary, as in all other ministries of Government of Pakistan, is the bureaucratic head of the Ministry, who is a BPS-22 grade officer o ...

in 1947 by Jinnah himself. He also remained the Ambassador of Pakistan to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, In recognized minority languages of Portugal: :* mwl, República Pertuesa is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian ...

and 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 Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. He was married to

Shaista Suhrawardy Ikramullah Begum Shaista Suhrawardy Ikramullah (22 July 1915 – 11 December 2000) was a Bengali Pakistani politician from Bengal, diplomat and author. She was the first Muslim woman to earn a PhD from the University of London. She was Pakistan's ambas ...

, and father of Princess Sarvath of Jordan.

Biography

Ikramullah was born 15 January 1903 in

Bhopal Bhopal (; ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of both Bhopal district and Bhopal division. It is known as the ''City of Lakes'' due to its various natural and artificial lakes. It ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

, to

Urdu-speaking Native speakers of Urdu are spread across South Asia. The vast majority of them are Muslims of the Hindi–Urdu Belt of northern India, followed by the Deccani people of the Deccan plateau in south-central India (who speak Deccani Urdu) and the M ...

Quraishi Qureshi (also known as Qureyshi, Quraishi, Qurayshi, Qureshy, Quraishy, Qoraishi, Qoreshi, Koraishi, Kureshi, Kureshy, Kureishi, Coreish) is a Muslim family name. In English it has many spellings, in Arabic is spelled "", which means part of the ...

family. His father, Khan Bahadur Hafiz Mohammed Wilayatullah belonged to the aristocracy of the Muslim royal state of

, a large princely state in

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

. His family is reputed to have hailed originally from the

Hijaz The Hejaz (, also ; ar, ٱلْحِجَاز, al-Ḥijāz, lit=the Barrier, ) is a region in the west of Saudi Arabia. It includes the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif, and Baljurashi. It is also known as the "Western Provinc ...

and are regarded as both Quraishi and Chishti. Wilayatullah's family served against many significant royal posts for several generations at the Court of the state of Bhopal; where Ikrmullah was born in 1903.Profile of Mohammed Ikramullah on National Portrait Gallery, UK website
Retrieved 8 April 2019 He joined the

Indian Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 300 million ...

in 1934. Later, Ikramullah served as Advisor to the preparatory commissions of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, and at its first general assembly, between 1945 and 1946. He was appointed a CIE (Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire) in the

1946 New Year Honours The 1946 New Year Honours were appointments by many of the Commonwealth Realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and to celebrate the passing of 1945 and the beginnin ...

. In July 1947, when the States Departments were established, Ikramullah was appointed from the old

as Joint Secretary, White Paper on Indian States, Ministry of States, Government of India, 1950, page 33, Retrieved 8 April 2019 States Department, Provisional government of British India prior to independence.Profile of Mohammad Ikramullah (Archived)
University of Southampton, Special Collections, Archived 4 October 2006, Retrieved 8 April 2019 Subsequent to the

creation Creation may refer to: Religion *'' Creatio ex nihilo'', the concept that matter was created by God out of nothing *Creation myth, a religious story of the origin of the world and how people first came to inhabit it *Creationism, the belief that ...

in 1947, he immigrated from Bhopal to Karachi, the then federal capital of Pakistan and started the foreign office,

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the four provinces, two autonomous territorie ...

after being appointed the foreign Secretary of Pakistan by the founder of Pakistan

Muhammad Ali Jinnah Muhammad Ali Jinnah (, ; born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 1876 – 11 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 ...

in October 1947. During the subsequent era, he represented Pakistan in the

many times and also served as the High Commissioner of Pakistan to

and the UK, and also as Pakistan's ambassador to

and

. Ikramullah played key roles in establishing the Commonwealth Economic Committee and had been nominated as

Secretary-General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derive ...

of the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with " republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from th ...

at the time of his death in 1963.

Personal life

His younger brother, Mohammad Hidayatullah, was

Chief Justice of India The chief justice of India ( IAST: ) is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of India as well as the highest-ranking officer of the Indian Judiciary. The Constitution of India grants power to the president of India to appoint, in consultation ...

from 1968–70,

Vice President of India The vice president of India ( IAST: ) is the deputy to the head of state of the Republic of India, i.e. the president of India. The office of vice president is the second-highest constitutional office after the president and ranks second in th ...

from 1979–84, and served as acting

President of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Mur ...

twice. Ikramullah married Shaista Suhrawardy in 1933. He died in 1963.

References

External links

Family history
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ikramullah, Mohammed Honorary Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Muhajir people Indian Civil Service (British India) officers Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire High Commissioners of Pakistan to Canada Ambassadors of Pakistan to France Ambassadors of Pakistan to Portugal Foreign Secretaries of Pakistan High Commissioners of Pakistan to the United Kingdom Politicians from Bhopal People from Karachi 1903 births 1963 deaths Indian emigrants to Pakistan