Syed Hashim Raza was a leading bureaucrat and former

Governor of East Pakistan The Governor of East Pakistan, formerly known as the Governor of East Bengal, served as the appointed Head of state, head of province of the Government of East Pakistan, provincial government and the representative of President of Pakistan in Ea ...

Early life and education

He was born on 16 February 1910 at

Unnao Unnao is a city and district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Unnao is located on the eastern bank of the Ganges River, and it is a satellite city of Kanpur. Administratively, Unnao lies within Unnao district, the district of Unnao and is ...

United Provinces of Agra and Oudh The United Provinces of Agra and Oudh was a province of India under the British Raj, which existed from 22 March 1902 to 1937; the official name was shortened by the Government of India Act 1935 to United Provinces (UP), by which the province ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

into a prominent family of Mashhadi Persian origin. In 1932, he graduated from

Lucknow University University of Lucknow (informally known as Lucknow University, and LU) is one of the oldest public state university based in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. LU's main campus is located at Badshah Bagh, University Road area of the city with a second ...

with a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree in political science. Then he went on to

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, England for further studies.

Career

In 1934, 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 Raj, British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 3 ...

. From 1934 to 1939, he was an assistant collector and

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

. He served as

deputy commissioner A deputy commissioner is a police, income tax or administrative official in many countries. The rank is commonplace in police forces of Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, usually ranking below the Commissioner. Australia In all Aust ...

Larkana Larkana (; ) is a city located in the Sindh province of Pakistan. It is the 15th largest city of Pakistan by population. It is home to the Indus Valley civilization site Mohenjo-daro. The historic Indus River flows in east and south of the ci ...

and

Tharparkar Tharparkar (Dhatki language, Dhatki/; , ), also known as Thar, is a district in Sindh province in Pakistan, headquartered at Mithi. Before Indian independence it was known as the Thar and Parkar (1901⁠–⁠1947) or Eastern Sindh Frontier Distr ...

districts from 1943 to 1946. From 1946 to 1947, he served as the deputy secretary of Home and General Departments. Syed Hashim Raza held numerous positions including provincial press adviser and secretary to the

Governor of Sindh The governor of Sindh is the appointed head of the province of Sindh, Pakistan. The office of the governor as the head of the province is largely a ceremonial position; the executive powers lie with the Chief Secretary of Sindh, Chief Secretary ...

. From 1948 to 1951, he was the first administrator of the then federal capital of Pakistan, Karachi. In fact, he was serving in this administrator's position when the

founder of Pakistan Muhammad Ali Jinnah (born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 187611 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the List of Pakistan Movement activists, founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League ...

Muhammad Ali Jinnah Muhammad Ali Jinnah (born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 187611 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 inception of Pa ...

died on 11 September 1948 in Karachi. He was one of the close associates of Jinnah. From 1951 to 1953, he served in various capacities in the

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

administration. From 1 July 1961 to 5 August 1961, he was the acting ''Governor of East Pakistan''.

Awards and recognition

Sitara-I-Pakistan Nishan-e-Pakistan () is the Civil decorations of Pakistan, highest civilian award of the Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Pakistan. It is awarded to "those who have rendered services of highest distinction" to the national interest of Pakistan. Nis ...

(Star of Pakistan) Award for his distinguished services to Pakistan * ''Sitara-e-Quaid-e-Azam'' (Star of Quaid-e-Azam) Award by the

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan () (abbreviated as GoP), constitutionally known as the Federal Government, commonly known as the Centre, is the national authority of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, a federal republic located in South Asia, con ...

Death and legacy

He died on 30 September 2003 in Karachi, Pakistan at age 93 due to kidney failure after a long illness. He was married to Salma Raza. He had two daughters and two sons, Syed Ali Raza, former president of

National Bank of Pakistan National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) is a Pakistani government-owned multinational commercial bank which is a subsidiary of State Bank of Pakistan. It is headquartered in Karachi, Pakistan. As of December 2022, it has over 1,500 branches across Paki ...

, and

Syed Salim Raza Syed Salim Raza (also spelt Reza) is a British Pakistani banker and financier who served as the 15th Governor of State Bank of Pakistan. In September 2018, Raza was appointed to the Economic Advisory Council (Pakistan), the Prime Minister's Econo ...

, former Governor of

State Bank of Pakistan The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is the central bank of Pakistan. Its Constitution, as originally laid down in the State Bank of Pakistan Order 1948, remained basically unchanged until 1 January 1974, when the bank was nationalised and the scope ...

References

1910 births 2003 deaths Governors of East Pakistan Muhajir people Pakistani civil servants All-India Muslim League politicians Recipients of the Sitara-e-Pakistan {{Pakistan-gov-stub