Personal Life
Mamnoon Hussain Born in Agra, British India in 1940, his family migrated to settle in Karachi in 1949. After being homeschooled, Hussain enrolled in the Karachi University where he studied for the Commerce degree. After graduating from the Karachi University in 1963, he entered in the master’s program at the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) in Karachi and obtained his MBA degree in 1965. Initially supporting and strengthening his father’s business, he later founded his own textile company in Karachi. He later joined the center-right Pakistan Muslim League in 1970, working as a party worker. In 1997, he earned public notability as a business leader when he was elected as president of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry, serving until May 1999.
Political Carrer
Hussain began to take interest in national politics in 1968 when he became chairman and joined the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) led by Nurul Amin. Initially, an activist with reformist zeal in 1968, Hussain began joint secretary of the Pakistan Muslim League’s Karachi chapter. In 1993, he officially joined the PML(N) led by Nawaz Sharif and was appointed the Finance Secretary of the PML(N) in Sindh. In June 1999, he became the Governor of Sindh, but his term was cut short on 12 October 1999 when the PML(N) government was ousted in a military coup. His credentials as a politician devoted to the cause of democracy were established when he became a political prisoner after raising his voice against the military regime of Pervez Musharraf. Azhar Haroon, the former president of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said: “He had no political affiliation until 1999 but his polite discourse and professional ability impressed Nawaz Sharif, who appointed him as the Governor of Sindh”. He is a relatively lesser-known figure, described as loyal to Nawaz Sharif, and was elected as President of Pakistan as the official nominee of the PML-N in the July 2013 presidential election. Hussain secured 432 votes and his only rival Wajihuddin Ahmed received 77. He was sworn in on 9 September 2013 in a ceremony held at Aiwan-e-Sadr, attended by mainstream political and military leadership alongside foreign dignitaries, media personnel and his close relatives. At the time of assuming the office of president, he became the second oldest president of Pakistan. His term for the presidency ended on 8 September 2018. Hussain shares a distinction with the former president Ayub Khan as both have given the oath of office to five chief justices of Pakistan each during their tenure, that is the maximum number of chief justices sworn in by any president of Pakistan.
