Khurram dastgir khan biography of alberta health

Pakistani politician

Khurram Dastgir Khan (Punjabi, Urdu: خرم دستگیر خان; born 3 August ) is a Pakistani politician who had been a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from August till August Previously, he was a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from to , and again from to

He served as Chairman of Standing Committee of the National Assembly on Commerce from He served as Federal Minister for Commerce from in the Cabinet of Nawaz Sharif.

He served as Federal Minister for Defence from –18 and Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs from 11 May – 31 May in the cabinet of Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. He also served as Federal Minister for Energy in the cabinet of Shehbaz Sharif from

Khan studied engineering from the California Institute of Technology and economics at Bowdoin College.

Beyond his political career, he has also been involved in the family business, has served as the Vice President of Punjab Squash Association for – and has managed District Red Crescent, Gujranwala Club and Jinnah Memorial Library.^[1]

Early life and education

Khan was born on 3 August in Gujranwala, Punjab, Pakistan.^[2][3]

Khan studied at the St.

Joseph's High School in Gujranwala and Cadet College, Hasan Abdal.^[4]

Khan attended the Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine from where he holds a degree in Economics and was trained as an electrical engineer at the California Institute of Technology.^[4]

Political career

In , he was serving as Special Assistant to then Prime Minister of PakistanNawaz Sharif^[5] until his tenure was terminated during Pakistani coup d'état staged by Pervez Musharraf.^[4]

He ran for the seat of National Assembly of Pakistan from Gujranwala constituency as a candidate of PML (N) in Pakistani general elections but was unsuccessful.^[6] Reportedly, he was booked for terrorist activities; for beating up two PPP activists at a polling station and for getting a provocative pamphlet published about a rival candidate in separate cases.^[7]

From to , he worked on building his reputation in the PML-N where he eventually became party's central deputy secretary information.^[4]

He was elected to the National Assembly for the first time as a candidate of PML(N) in Pakistani general election.^[8][9] In October , he was elected as Chairman of the Standing Committee of National Assembly on Commerce.^[10]

He was re-elected to the National Assembly for the second time as a candidate of PML (N) in Pakistani general election.^[11] Upon PML-N victory in the general election, Khan was first appointed as Minister of State for Science and Technology.^[12] Later, he was made Minister of State for Privatisation as well Chairman of the Privatisation Commission of Pakistan.

In December , he was appointed as the Minister of State for Commerce.^{[13][14][15][16]}

In January , he was elevated to the rank of federal minister and was appointed as the Minister for Commerce for the first time.^[17][12] He had ceased to hold ministerial office in July when the federal cabinet was disbanded following the disqualification of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif after Panama Papers case decision.^[18]

Following the election of Shahid Khaqan Abbasi as Prime Minister of Pakistan, Khan was inducted into the federal cabinet of Abbasi and was appointed Minister for Defence for the first time.^[19][20] In May , he was given the additional portfolio of Minister for Foreign Affairs.^[21] Upon the dissolution of the National Assembly on the expiration of its term on 31 May , Khan ceased to hold the office as Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs and Federal Minister for Defence.^[22]

He was re-elected to the National Assembly as a candidate of PML-N from Constituency NA (Gujranwala-III) in Pakistani general election.^[23]

Writings

Khan published his book Gujranwala: At the Dawn of a New Millennium in , and since he has also written in many English-language newspapers of the country, including book reviews for Dawn.^[1]

References