Sharif, Nawaz (1949-…), was prime minister of Pakistan from 1990 to 1993, from 1997 to 1999, and from 2013 to 2017. In 1999, his government was overthrown in a military coup, and in 2017, he resigned the prime ministership after Pakistan’s Supreme Court disqualified him from office over charges of corruption.
Mohammad Nawaz Sharif was born in Lahore to a Muslim family on Dec. 25, 1949. His name is sometimes spelled Navaz. He earned a law degree from the Punjab University Law College at Lahore. He joined the Punjab cabinet as finance minister in 1981. From 1985 to 1990, he served as chief minister of the Punjab.
Sharif first became prime minister following elections held in 1990. His party, the Pakistan Muslim League, was the chief party of the Islamic Democratic Alliance, a coalition of political parties that had won the majority of seats in parliament.
In 1993, a political struggle developed between President Ghulam Ishaq Khan and Sharif. In April, the president dismissed Sharif, but in May the Supreme Court reinstated him as prime minister. Finally, in July, both men resigned from office. In elections held in February 1997, the Pakistan Muslim League won a majority of seats in parliament, and Sharif again became prime minister. In April, parliament passed a law that stripped the president of the power to dismiss the prime minister and call new elections. Disagreement over the constitutionality of the law led to disputes between President Farooq Leghari and the chief justice of the Supreme Court on one side and Sharif on the other. In December, Leghari resigned, and the chief justice was ousted. Leghari was replaced as president by Mohammad Rafiq Tarar, an ally of Sharif’s.
In 1998, under Sharif’s leadership, Pakistan exploded several nuclear devices. India, Pakistan’s long-time rival, had earlier tested several nuclear devices and had declared itself capable of producing nuclear weapons.
Sharif faced a revolt by Pakistan’s military leaders in 1999. In an attempt to stem the revolt, Sharif briefly prevented a commercial airliner carrying General Pervez Musharraf, whom Sharif had just fired as army chief of staff, from landing in Pakistan. Musharraf then led the coup that overthrew Sharif (see Musharraf, Pervez). In 2000, an antiterrorist court in Pakistan convicted Sharif of hijacking and terrorism and sentenced him to life in prison. Later that year, he was pardoned and exiled to Saudi Arabia. Pakistan’s Supreme Court allowed him to return in 2007.
In 2013, Sharif led his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party to victory in parliamentary elections. He became prime minister. The Supreme Court disqualified him from office in 2017, over charges of corruption, and Sharif resigned as prime minister. He was replaced by a political ally, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. In 2018, Sharif was found guilty of corruption and sentenced to 10 years in prison. The court suspended the sentence and released him pending an appeal. However, he was found guilty of a separate charge of corruption and sentenced to 7 years in prison. In late 2019, he was allowed to leave the country for medical treatment. Sharif’s younger brother, Shehbaz Sharif, served as Pakistan’s prime minister from 2022 to 2023.
See also Pakistan (Struggle for democracy).
