Shehbaz Sharif took oath as Pakistan’s 23rd prime minister on Monday. He is the longest-serving chief minister of the Punjab province, having served on the post three times since he began his political career nearly four decades ago.
He is the son of Mian Muhammad Sharif, a well-known businessman, and the younger brother of Nawaz Sharif, the former prime minister of Pakistan.
Shehbaz is a graduate of the Government College in Lahore. He first came into the spotlight in 1985, when he was appointed the president of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
But his foray into politics began in 1988 when he was elected as a member of the Punjab Assembly (MPA). He served for a short stint, till 1990 when the assembly was dissolved.
The same year, he contested and won a national assembly constituency and became a member of the lower house of Pakistan’s parliament. In 1993, he again returned to the Punjab Assembly and was appointed leader of the opposition till 1996.
In 1997, Shehbaz won a Punjab constituency for the third time and went on to become the chief minister. However, after the military overthrew the PML-N government, he was imprisoned and later sent into exile for eight years.
Returning in 2008, Sharif was again elected as a member of the Punjab assembly and then became chief minister for a second term. This time he served his full term as chief minister.
After the general election in 2013, Shehbaz returned as chief minister of his home province. While in the 2018 polls, he decided to retain his national assembly seat and was nominated as the leader of the opposition.
In 2019, Shehbaz declared his net wealth to be Rs100,725,909 to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), including investments in Hudabiya Engineering, Hamza Spinning Mills and Hudabiya Paper Mills as well as agricultural properties in Sheikhupura and Lahore.
