Khawaja Nazimuddin | |
---|---|
খাজা নাজিমুদ্দিন خواجہ ناظِمُ الدّین | |
![]() Nazimuddin in 1948 | |
2nd Governor-General of Pakistan | |
In office 14 September 1948 – 17 October 1951 | |
Monarch | George VI |
Prime Minister | Liaquat Ali Khan |
Preceded by | Muhammad Ali Jinnah |
Succeeded by | Malik Ghulam Muhammad |
2nd Prime Minister of Pakistan | |
In office 17 October 1951 – 17 April 1953 | |
Monarchs | George VI Elizabeth II |
Governor General | Sir Malik Ghulam Muhammad |
Preceded by | Liaquat Ali Khan |
Succeeded by | Mohammad Ali Bogra |
Chief Minister of East Bengal | |
In office 15 August 1947 – 14 September 1948 | |
Monarch | George VI |
Governor General | Muhammad Ali Jinnah |
Prime Minister | Liaquat Ali Khan |
Governor | Sir Fredrick Chalmers Bourne |
Preceded by | Huseyn Suhrawardy (as Prime minister of Bengal) |
Succeeded by | Nurul Amin |
Prime Minister of Bengal | |
In office 29 April 1943 – 31 March 1945 | |
Monarch | George VI |
Governors General | |
Governor | Richard Casey, Baron Casey |
Preceded by | Fazlul Haq |
Succeeded by | Huseyn Suhrawardy |
President of Muslim League | |
In office 17 October 1951 – 17 April 1953 | |
Preceded by | Liaquat Ali Khan |
Succeeded by | Mohammad Ali of Bogra |
Personal details | |
Born | Dacca, Bengal, British India | 19 July 1894
Died | 22 October 1964 Dacca, East Pakistan, Pakistan | (aged 70)
Resting place | Mausoleum of Three Leaders, Dhaka, Bangladesh |
Citizenship | British Indian (1894–1947) Pakistani (1947–1964) |
Political party | Muslim League (1947–1958) |
Other political affiliations | All-India Muslim League (1922–1947) Pakistan Muslim League (1947–1964) |
Spouse | Shahbano Ashraf |
Relations | Khwaja Shahabuddin (brother) |
Alma mater | Cambridge University (MA) Aligarh Muslim University (BA) |
Profession | Barrister, politician |
Sir Khawaja Nazimuddin KCIE (Bengali: খাজা নাজিমুদ্দীন; Urdu: خواجہ ناظِمُ الدّین; 19 July 1894 – 22 October 1964) was a Pakistani politician and statesman who served as the second governor-general of Pakistan from 1948 to 1951, and later as the second prime minister of Pakistan from 1951 to 1953.
Born into an aristocratic Nawab family in Bengal in 1894, he was educated at the Aligarh Muslim University before pursuing his post-graduation studies at the Cambridge University. Upon returning, he embarked on his journey as a politician on the platform of All-India Muslim League. Initially, his political career revolved around advocating for educational reforms and development in Bengal. Later on he started supporting the cause for a separate Muslim homeland, rising to become the party's principal Bengali leader and a close associate of Muhammad Ali Jinnah. He served as Prime Minister of Bengal in British India from 1943 to 1945, and later as the 1st Chief Minister of East Bengal in independent Pakistan.
Nazimuddin ascended to Governor-General in 1948 after the death of Jinnah, before becoming Prime Minister in 1951 following the assassination of his predecessor, Liaquat Ali Khan.[1] His term was marked by constant power struggles with his own successor as Governor-General, Ghulam Muhammad, as law and order deteriorated amid the rise of the Bengali language movement and protests in his native Dhaka in 1952, and religious riots in Lahore a year later. The latter crisis saw the first instance of martial law, limited to the city, and led to Governor-General Ghulam Muhammad dismissing Nazimuddin on 17 April 1953.
Nazimuddin's ministry was the first federal government to be dismissed in Pakistan's history, though his former ministers Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar, Abdul Sattar Pirzada, and Mahmud Husain refused to take the oath of office in the new cabinet.[2] He retired from national politics, dying after a brief illness in 1964. He is buried at the Mausoleum of Three Leaders in Dhaka.[3] He was one of the leading founding fathers of Pakistan and the first Bengali to have governed Pakistan.