Nawaz Sharif Fast Facts

CNN Editorial Research

Here is a look at the life of Pakistan‘s former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Personal

Birth date: December 25, 1949

Birth place: Lahore, Pakistan

Birth name: Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif

Father: Muhammad Sharif

Mother: Shamim Akhtar

Marriage: Kulsoom Sharif (until September 11, 2018, her death)

Children: two sons and two daughters

Education: Government College Lahore; Punjab University Law College, Law degree, Lahore, Pakistan

Other Facts

Although elected prime minister on three separate occasions, and is Pakistan’s longest-serving prime minister, he never completed a full term.

Timeline

1977 – Opens Ittefaq Industries, a family business involved in the steel, sugar and textile industries.

1981 – Is appointed Pakistan’s finance minister.

1985 – Becomes chief minister of Punjab province.

October 1990 – Is elected as Pakistan’s prime minister.

November 6, 1990 – Is sworn in as prime minister.

April 18, 1993 – Sharif’s government is dismissed by President Ghulam Ishaq Khan after charges of corruption and mismanagement are raised. Sharif’s family-owned business grew tremendously during his tenure in office, causing suspicion of corruption.

May 26, 1993 – Pakistan’s Supreme Court orders the reinstatement of Sharif, calling his dismissal unconstitutional and the charges false. Sharif and Khan both later resign.

February 3, 1997 – Is reelected as prime minister.

February 17, 1997 – Is sworn in as prime minister.

October 12, 1999 – Army General Pervez Musharraf overthrows Sharif in a bloodless coup.

January 2000 – Sharif goes on trial for charges of hijacking/terrorism and conspiracy to commit murder.

April 6, 2000 – Is convicted of plane hijacking/terrorism and sentenced to life imprisonment. He is charged with hijacking because he attempted to prevent a plane Musharraf was flying in from landing at any airport in Pakistan, when the plane was low on fuel. Sharif knew of Musharraf’s coup intentions.

July 22, 2000 – Is convicted of corruption and sentenced to an additional 14 years in prison while already serving a life sentence. His failure to declare assets and pay taxes led to the conviction.

December 2000 – Is released from prison by a deal brokered by the Saudi royal family.

December 2000-August 2007- In exile in Saudi Arabia.

October 29, 2004 – His father dies and Sharif seeks a brief return to Pakistan to attend the funeral, after serving only four of his 10-year exile in Saudi Arabia. The request is denied.

August 23, 2007 – Pakistan’s Supreme Court lifts the exile imposed on Sharif. He served only seven of his 10-year exile.

September 10, 2007 – Attempts to return to Pakistan but is deported just hours after his arrival.

November 25, 2007 – Sharif returns to Pakistan from exile in Saudi Arabia, flying into the city of Lahore.

February 18, 2008 – In parliamentary elections, Sharif’s party Pakistan Muslim League-N wins 67 seats, placing second to the party of the late Benazir Bhutto, the PPP.

February 20, 2008 – The PPP and the Pakistan Muslim League-N announce that they will form a coalition government.

August 25, 2008 – At a press conference, Sharif announces his party, the Pakistan Muslim League-N, is splitting from the coalition government it formed with the PPP, following disagreements over the reinstatement of judges Musharraf dismissed.

May 26, 2009 – The Supreme Court of Pakistan rules that Sharif is eligible to run in elections and hold public office. In February 2009, the court had ruled that Sharif was ineligible for office because he had a criminal conviction. He is still ineligible to run for prime minister due to term limits.

July 17, 2009 – Pakistan’s Supreme Court clears Sharif of hijacking charges, paving the way for him to legally run for office.

April 19, 2010 – Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari voluntarily signs the 18th Amendment to the constitution, significantly diminishing his powers. Among the sweeping changes is a measure removing the two-term limit for prime ministers, allowing Sharif to vie for a third term.

June 5, 2013 – Is elected prime minister of Pakistan.

August 30, 2014 – Sharif announces in a statement that he will not resign. He has vowed to remain on the job despite violent demonstrations. The protesters have accused him of rigging last year’s elections that allowed his party to take power.

December 16, 2014 – Sharif lifts the 2008 moratorium on the death penalty after the Taliban attack a school, killing 145 people, most of them children. He also announces “that the distinction between good and bad Taliban will not be continued at any level.”

November 1, 2016 – The Supreme Court announces that a commission will investigate Sharif’s finances after leaked documents showed that his children owned shell companies in the British Virgin Islands. The documents were released as part of the Panama Papers, a trove of secret financial forms associated with a Panamanian law firm.

November 30, 2016 – In violation of diplomatic protocol, Sharif’s office releases a statement quoting his recent conversation with US President-elect Donald Trump.

April 20, 2017 – A panel of judges orders a new probe of Sharif’s finances, calling on the prime minister and his family to testify.

July 28, 2017 – Sharif resigns shortly after Pakistan’s Supreme Court rules that he has been dishonest to Parliament and to the judicial system and is no longer fit for office.

July 6, 2018 – Sharif is sentenced to 10 years in prison and fined £8 million ($10.5 million) relating to corruption charges over his family’s purchase of properties in London. His daughter Maryam, seen as his heir apparent, receives a seven-year sentence and a £2 million ($2.6 million) fine. Captain Muhammad Safdar Awan, her husband, receives a one-year sentence. They are barred from engaging in politics for 10 years.

July 13, 2018 – Sharif and his daughter Maryam are arrested and held in Islamabad after they fly back from the United Kingdom to face prison sentences. Before the landing, Sharif tells supporters his return is a “sacrifice for the future generations of the country and for its political stability.”

September 19, 2018 – The Islamabad High Court suspends a corruption sentence against Sharif and his daughter Maryam. The two are ordered to pay bail of $5,000 each. Sharif is released after serving less than three months of a 10-year sentence.

December 24, 2018 – Sharif is found guilty of fresh corruption charges relating to the purchase of Al-Azizia Steel Mills where prosecutors alleged that the Sharif family misappropriated government funds to buy the mills. An accountability court in Islamabad sentences him to seven years in prison and fines him $25 million. Sharif is immediately arrested and taken into custody by courtroom officials.

October 2019 – Sharif is released on bail due to health issues.

November 19, 2019 – Sharif flies to London for medical treatment.

December 2020 – The Islamabad High Court declares Sharif a proclaimed offender for his continued absence from the court.

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