Hina Rabbani Khar (born 19 January 1977 in Multan, Punjab) is a Pakistani politician and Minister of Foreign Affairs since 20 July 2011. She is Pakistan's youngest and first female Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Early life
Hina Rabbani Khar was born on 19 January 1977 in Multan, Punjab, Pakistan. She is the daughter of politician Malik Ghulam Noor Rabbani Khar and niece of Malik Ghulam Mustafa Khar. A businesswoman by profession, Hina Rabbani Khar's family has roots in village ‘Khar Gharbi’ located in Kot Addu a Tehsil in Muzaffargarh District in the Punjab province. The Khar political power comes from the family's land holdings: their sprawling estate includes fisheries, mango orchards and sugarcane fields. She graduated with a B.Sc. (Hons) from Lahore University of Management Sciences in 1999, and received her M.Sc. in Hotel Management from the University of Massachusetts in 2001.
Political Career
She was elected as a member of the National Assembly from the Pakistan Muslim League (Q) (PML-Q) in 2002 from the constituency of Muzaffargarh, Punjab. PML-Q denied Hina Khar a ticket for re-election in 2008 and she ran and won as a member of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). She served as the State Minister for Economic Affairs and Statistics in the cabinet of Yousaf Raza Gillani. On 13 June 2009 she became the first woman to present a budget speech in the National Assembly.
Appointment as Foreign Minister
She was appointed Minister of State for Foreign Affairs on February 11, 2011, as part of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani's new cabinet. She is the first female Minister of State for Foreign Affairs in Pakistan's history. After Shah Mehmood Qureshi was dismissed as Foreign Minister, she became Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs on February 13, 2011. She was officially appointed as foreign minister on 19 July 2011 by President Asif Ali Zardari and was sworn in as permanent Minister for Foreign affairs on 20 July 2011. In a message of felicitation, President Zardari described Ms Khar’s appointment as a demonstration of the PPP government’s “commitment to bring women into the mainstream of national life”.
Personal & Marriage Life
She is married to Feroz Gulzar, a businessman and they have two sons and one daughter. She is co-owner of the Polo Lounge, an upscale, popular restaurant located on the Lahore Polo Grounds.
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