Shafqat Mahmood ( Punjabi, ; 19 February 1950) is a retired

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 ...

bureaucrat-turned-politician who served as the Federal Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training, and Federal Minister for National History and Literary Heritage, from 20 August 2018 to 3 April 2022. Before going into politics, he served as a grade 20 officer of the

Pakistan Administrative Service The Pakistan Administrative Service, or PAS () (previously known as the District Management Group or DMG before 1 June 2012) is an elite cadre of the Civil Services of Pakistan. The Pakistan Administrative Service over the years has emerged as ...

. He was elected a member of 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 ...

in 2013 and 2018. He has been 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 1994 to March 2000. He served as Federal Minister for the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock, the Ministry of Environment, Urban Affair Forestry and Wildlife, and the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development in the federal cabinet of Prime Minister Malik Meraj Khalid from November 1996 to February 1997. He served as Provincial Minister of Punjab for Information from 1999 to 2000 during the military rule of

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 ...

. He is no longer Member of the National Assembly as he resigned from the National Assembly.

Early life and education

He was born on 19 February 1950. Belonging to a

Gujjar The Gurjar (or Gujjar, Gujar, Gurjara) are an agricultural ethnic community, residing mainly in India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, divided internally into various clan groups. They were traditionally involved in agriculture, pastoral and nomadic ...

family, his cousins include Zaka Ashraf, associated with the PPP and who also served as the PCB chairman, as well Chaudhry Jaffar Iqbal Gujjar, a senior

PML-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 ...

politician. He completed his early education at

Sadiq Public School The Sadiq Public School (SPS) is a college-preparatory boarding school located in Bahawalpur, Punjab, Pakistan. It also takes day pupils. It is one of the largest schools in Pakistan and its area of makes it both the largest in the country and ...

Bahawalpur Bahawalpur (Urdu: ; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the 13th largest city of Pakistan and List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, 8th most populous city of Punjab. Bahawalpur is the capital of Bahawalpur Division. Founded in ...

, and later studied in the

Government College University, Lahore The Government College University (colloquially known as GCU; Punjabi, Urdu: ) is a public research university in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Founded as Government College, Lahore, in 1864 under British administration, it became a university i ...

before completing his Masters in Psychology from

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. He received a Masters in Public Administration from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1981. He also obtained a Masters in Public Policy and Administration from the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

in 1987. He has also cleared the Central Superior Service (CSS) exams. His daughter

Tara Mahmood Tara Mahmood is a Pakistani actress and singer. She rose to prominence by playing supporting roles in high-rated films, ''Seedlings (film), Seedlings'' (2012) and ''Good Morning Karachi'' (2013). Her performance in drama serials ''Muhabbat Subha ...

is an actress and singer.

Early career

He started his career by joining the

cadre of the civil bureaucracy in 1973. He served as Assistant Commissioner of

Murree Murree () is a mountain resort city in the northernmost region of the Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab province of Pakistan. Lying in the Galyat region of the Pir Panjal Range under the western Himalayas, it forms the outskirts of the Islamabad–Rawal ...

and Pakpatan from 1975 to 1978. He was then made Deputy Secretary to the Government of the Punjab where he served till 1980. He served as Deputy Commissioner of

Gujranwala Gujranwala is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, fourth most-populous city in the Pakistani province of Punjab. Located in northern-central Punjab's Rachna Doab, it serves as the headquarters of its Gujranwala District, epony ...

and

Dera Ghazi Khan Dera Ghazi Khan, abbreviated as D.G. Khan, is a city in the southwestern part of the Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, 16th most-populous city in Punjab and List of most p ...

for five years and also as an Additional Commissioner of the Afghan Refugees Organization for a short time in 1985. He served as Additional Secretary of Finance of the Government of Punjab from 1988 to 1989. Later, he joined the Prime Minister's Secretariat and served as Joint Secretary from 1989 to 1990.

Political career

He left the civil service and joined the

Pakistan Peoples Party The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is a political party in Pakistan and one of the three major List of political parties in Pakistan, Pakistani political parties alongside the Pakistan Muslim League (N) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. With a Cent ...

(PPP) in 1990 to begin his political career. He was appointed as political secretary to then Prime Minister of Pakistan

Benazir Bhutto Benazir Bhutto (21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990, and again from 1993 to 1996. She was also the first woman elected to head a democratic governmen ...

and remained spokesperson for PPP to represent the party on foreign tours. He remained a close aide of Benazir Bhutto. He was elected to the

as a candidate of PPP from Islamabad in March 1994. He remained a member of the Senate until March 2000. On 5 November 1996, he was inducted into the federal cabinet of caretaker Prime Minister Malik Meraj Khalid and was appointed as Federal Minister for Food, Agriculture and Livestock. On 12 November, he was given the additional ministerial portfolio of Ministry of Environment, Urban Affair Forestry and Wildlife. On 25 November, he was given the additional ministerial portfolio of Ministry of Environment, Local Government and Rural Development. He served as Minister for Food, Agriculture and Livestock until 15 December 1996. He remained Minister for Environment, Urban Affair Forestry and Wildlife, and Minister for Environment, Local Government and Rural Development until 17 February 1997. He became part of the military government setup following the

1999 Pakistani coup d'état The 1999 military takeover in Pakistan was a bloodless ''coup d'état'' initiated by the military staff at the Joint Staff HQ working under the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and Chief of Army Staff General Pervez Musharr ...

and served as Provincial Minister of Punjab for Information from 1999 to 2000. After his resignation, he began writing columns for an English-language newspaper ''

The News International ''The News International'', published in broadsheet size, is one of the largest English language newspapers in Pakistan. It is published daily from Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi/ Islamabad. An overseas edition is published from London th ...

'' and used to criticize 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. ...

(PTI) and its chief

Imran Khan Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi (born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician, philanthropist, and former cricketer who served as the 19th prime minister of Pakistan from August 2018 until April 2022. He was the founder of the political party Pak ...

. He joined PTI in November 2011 and served as information secretary of PTI from December 2011 to March 2013. He was elected to the

from Constituency NA-126 (Lahore-IX) as a candidate of PTI in 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 ...

. He received 97,933 votes and defeated Khawaja Ahmad Hassan, a candidate of 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 ...

(PML-N). In November 2015, he resigned from the post of PTI organizer in Lahore after the party's poor performance in local government elections held in October 2015. In May 2017, he became central information secretary of PTI. He was re-elected to the National Assembly as a candidate of PTI from Constituency NA-130 (Lahore-VIII) in the

2018 Pakistani general election General elections were held in Pakistan on 25 July 2018 to elect the members of the 15th National Assembly and the four Provincial Assemblies. The three major parties were Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), led by Imran Khan, the Pakistan Muslim ...

. On 18 August,

formally announced his federal cabinet structure and Mahmood was named as Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training and Minister for National History and Literary Heritage. On 20 August 2018, he was sworn in as a Federal Minister in the federal cabinet of Prime Minister Imran Khan. On 15 November 2019, he was elected as the President of

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

's Education Commission.

Writings

He has written numerous articles as well government reports, including ''Devolving the State: A Model for Empowering the People'' in 2000.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahmood, Shafqat Living people 1950 births Pakistani civil servants Pakistani columnists Pakistani MNAs 2013–2018 Pakistani MNAs 2018–2023 Members of the Senate of Pakistan Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf politicians Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf MNAs Federal ministers of Pakistan Politicians from Lahore Harvard Kennedy School alumni University of Southern California alumni Government College University, Lahore alumni Sadiq Public School alumni