Syed Fakhar Imam (; born 18 December 1942) is a

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 ...

politician and statesman who has held several positions in the Government of Pakistan including, the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, the Minister for Law and the Minister for Education, and served as Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research, from April 2020 to April 2022. He was preceded by

Malik Meraj Khalid Malik Meraj Khalid (; 1 February 1916 – 13 June 2003) was a Pakistani advocate, left wing politician and Marxist philosopher who served as the Caretaker prime minister of Pakistan from November 1996 until February 1997. He was noted as bein ...

, serving as the 11th speaker 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 ...

from 1985 to 1986. Imam has previously worked as the

Chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

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# ...

Parliamentary Special Committee on Kashmir The Parliamentary Special Committee on Kashmir is predominantly composed of senior MNAs and Senators of Pakistan. Its fundamental function is to raise the critical issue of Kashmir at national and international level. Its other key feature is its co ...

. He was elected to the national assembly as independent party candidate and subsequently joined Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI).

Early life and education

Imam was born on December 18, 1942, in Lahore. He belongs to Qatalpur, Khanewal District. His father, Syed Imam Shah AliGarh graduate (1933), served in British Army as Recruiting Officer and was a leading landlord of his area. Imam studied at

Aitchison College Aitchison College is an elite private, boarding school, boarding Junior School, Secondary School for boys in Lahore, Pakistan. It has educated Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime ministers, including Imran Khan, Feroz Khan Noon, president of Pakist ...

, Lahore, then joined

Clifton College Clifton College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in the city of Bristol in South West England, founded in 1862 and offering both boarding school, boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18. In its early years, unlike mo ...

, an English public school before turning to study agriculture at the

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University ...

Early career

From 1968 to 1969, he served in Central Superior Services of the Government of Pakistan to gain an understanding of the bureaucracy; not intending to make it his life's work. From 1970-1974, he worked in the private sector. In 1975, he served as Honorary Secretary for Board of Control for Cricket in Pakistan. He was elected as the Chairman of Punjab Cricket Association from 1976 to 1977.

Political career

In 1980, he began his political career when he was elected as the Chairman District Council, Multan and was appointed Federal Minister for Local Government and Rural Development in 1981 and resigned as a matter of honor, in December 1983 when he lost his local district council election of

Multan District Multan District (), is a district in the province of Punjab, Pakistan. Its capital is the city of Multan. The district has a population of million (as of 2024) and an area of 3,720 square kilometres. The district consists of tehsils of Multa ...

by one vote. From 1981 to 1982, Imam served as the Chairman of the Local Government Commission. Imam served as Chairman of the Sports Committee to promote the spirit of sports among youth and the educational institutions of Pakistan. In the non-party General Elections in February 1985, he was elected to the National Assembly from Multan District.

11th speaker of National Assembly

On February 25, 1985, then-president

Zia Ul Haq Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq (12 August 192417 August 1988) was a Pakistani military officer and statesman who served as the sixth president of Pakistan from 1978 until his death in an airplane crash in 1988. He also served as the second chief of ...

arranged non-party general elections and was confident of getting his favorite speaker, Khawaja Safdar and the father of

Khawaja Asif Khawaja Muhammad Asif (born 9 August 1949) is a Pakistani politician who has served as the Defence Minister of Pakistan since 2022. Asif previously served as Defence Minister from 2013 to 2017 until the disqualification of Nawaz Sharif and serv ...

elected to run the House. On March 22, 1985, by 119 votes to 111 votes, Imam defeated Safdar the chosen candidate for Chief Martial Law Administrator by Zia Ul Haq and Prime Minister

Muhammad Khan Junejo Mohammad Khan Junejo (18 August 1932 18 March 1993) was a Pakistani politician and statesman who served as the tenth Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1985 to 1988 under president Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq. During his tenure as prime minister he sou ...

, what was widely seen as the biggest upset victory. Two months later, at the conclusion of the budget debate, Imam shocked the assembly when deemed martial law "illegal and without lawful authority" since funds needed to administer it were not reflected in the budget. On May 26, 1986, Rana Nazir Ahmad moved a no-confidence motion against Imam and 152 Members of the National Assembly voted to remove Imam while he received only 72 votes which resulted in removing him from the office. After removing him from office, he served as the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly.

Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research

President

Arif Alvi Arif-ur-Rehman Alvi () is a Pakistani politician who served as the 13th President of Pakistan, in office from 2018 to 2024. He was a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from June 2013 to May 2018 and again from August to September 2018. ...

administered oath to Imam as Federal Minister for National Food Security on April 6, 2020 in a ceremony held at the Aiwan-e-Sadr.

Personal life

Imam is married to

Syeda Abida Hussain Syeda Abida Hussain–Imam ( b. 1948) is a Pakistani conservative politician, diplomat and socialite on the platform of the Pakistan Muslim League (N). Born into a feudal family in Pakistan, she served as the Pakistan Ambassador to th ...

who served as the Minister of Population Control and Census and Minister of Food and Agriculture in the government 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 ...

and Pakistan's ambassador to the US from 1991 to 1993. They have three children, Syeda Umme Kulsum, an entrepreneur, and

Syeda Sughra Imam Syeda Sughra Imam (Punjabi language, Punjabi, ) is a Pakistani politician who was elected from the platform of the Pakistan Peoples Partyserved from Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab on a reserve seat for women. Early life and education Syeda Sughra Im ...

and Syed Abid Hussain Imam who are politicians.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Imam, Fakhar Leaders of the opposition (Pakistan) Living people Aitchison College alumni People educated at Clifton College Speakers of the National Assembly of Pakistan People from Khanewal District Pakistani MNAs 1985–1988 Pakistani MNAs 1990–1993 1942 births Pakistan Muslim League (N) MNAs Pakistani MNAs 2018–2023 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf MNAs Federal ministers of Pakistan University of California, Davis alumni