Shujaat Hussain

Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain was born on 27 January 1940 in the Gujrat District, Punjab, of former British Indian Empire. He was born in a Punjabi Jat family belonging to Warraich clan. His ancestors hailed from rural Gujrat and had no initial political background. His father Zahoor Elahi was in Punjab Police but quit the police service to establish a cotton mill. His family lost a cotton mill as a result of Indian partition but re-established the mill in Gujrat after the establishment of Pakistan in 1947. By this time, Hussain's family had become a potent industrial oligarchs and had significant influence on presidents Ayub Khan and General Yahya Khan. ==Career in national politics==

Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain entered in the national politics after the assassination of his father. After participating in a local-body elections, Hussain became a Member of the Parliament in 1981 and, subsequently joining the Punjab government's Financial department. Hussain benefited with general Zia's economic policies. Interior ministry Hussain was the leading member of right-wing alliance, the Islamic Democratic Alliance (IDA) and won parliamentary seat during 1988 general elections, and headed the Parliamentary Party of Joint Opposition (PPJO) in the National Assembly from 1988 to 1990. Pakistan Muslim League After the coup, Hussain did not join the Pakistan Muslim League, a splinter group of PML. In 2001, Hussain decided to defect to PML after Sharif was exiled to Saudi Arabia in 2000 and contested from Gujrat through the PML platform during the 2002 general elections. Initially, Hussain became parliamentary party leader in the National Assembly, but assumed the presidency of the party when the party's founder Mian Muhammad Azhar resigned from the party. In January 2003, Shujaat was nominated and assumed the party's presidency after succeeding Mian Muhammad Azhar on a party convention. ==Premiership (2004)==

Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain endorsed and provided his support to appoint his lifelong friend Zafarullah Khan Jamali as country's first Baloch prime minister. Previously, he also played a role in bringing Shaukat Aziz in national politics. However, in 2004 Jamali resigned. After Jamali's resignation, Shujaat Husain nominated Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz for the office of Prime Minister. Shujaat became Prime Minister because Aziz could not be elected Prime Minister, as he was a member of senate. Election as Prime Minister The election for Prime Minister took place on 29 June 2004. ==Personal life==

Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain is the eldest son of Chaudhry Zahoor Ilahi. He has two brothers, Wajahat Hussain and Shafaat Hussain, and six sisters. One of his sisters, Qaisra Elahi, is married with his cousin, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, former chief minister of Punjab. His sister Naaz Elahi is married with Tahir Sadiq Khan, former member National Assembly of Pakistan. His sister Sumaira Elahi is also active in politics. One of his sisters is married with Riaz Asghar Chaudhry, former mayor of district Mandi Bahauddin, and one of his sisters is married with Javaid Akhtar Chattha, paternal cousin of former speaker National Assembly of Pakistan Hamid Nasir Chattha. His younger brother, Chaudhry Wajahat Hussain, has also been elected to the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab for three times (1988–1990, 1990–1993, 1997–1999) and also won from the constituency NA-104 of National Assembly in 2002 and 2008 general elections. His Brother is Also Founder of Wajahat Force of PML-Q. A group of a few hundred people who held political and gun power in the districts of Gujrat, Mandi Bahauddin, Sargodha and Hafizabad.After the 2018 and 2024 elections, Wajahat Hussain's two sons also became members of the national and provincial assemblies. Honors from South Korea Hussain had been a strong and vocal supporter of Pakistan's bilateral relations with South Korea. He helped in bringing South Korea investment in the country and supports South-Korean model of economy in the country. Hussain is investor in defence production, military technological development, and industrial mills. On the one hand, the wealth inherited from his father and on the other hand, due to his 11 consecutive years in government from 1997 to 2008, Chaudhry made immense wealth in real estate and sugar mills. According to an estimate, in 2008, his wealth spread across Europe was estimated to be around 2.5 billion USD == Books ==

By him • Sach To Yeh Hai! (‏سچّ تو يه هے; "This Is The Truth!"), Lahore : Firoz Shah Publications, 2018, 328 p. Autobiography. About him • Ch. Shujat Danishwaron Ke Nazr Maen (چوهدرى شجاعت حسين : دانشوروں کى نضر ميں; "Shujat The Man : Scholars' Eye View"), Lahore : Sanj Publications, 2020, 234 p. ==See also==