LIST OF PRESIDENTS OF PAKISTAN

The President of Pakistan is constitutionally the head of the state. The recently passed
18th Amendment has restored Pakistans government system as democratic, whereby the President
is chosen by the Electoral College, which consists of the Senate, National Assembly, and the
provincial assemblies, for a five-year term. Thus, the President of Pakistan is truly a complete
representative figure in the government having the highest authority to run the government. The
Prime Minister of Pakistan runs the state.
The President of Pakistan is also the Chairman of the National Security Council, the Commander-inChief of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The post also gives the President power to appoint the
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, Chiefs of the Army, Navy, Air Force and ColonelCommandant Marines.
The President of Pakistan is not allowed to serve more than two consecutive terms and he/she can
be impeached and removed from the post if the two-third majority of the Parliament decides so. In
Pakistans history, exchange of central chief executive powers have always jostled between the
President and the Prime Minister often implementing changes through various amendments in the
Constitution. Here is a complete list of all the Presidents of Pakistan since 1947.
1. Iskander Mirza (18991969)

In Office: 23 March 1956 27 October 1958

Total Duration: 2 Years, 7 Months, 4 Days
Status: Elected democratically
Political Party: Republican Party

2. Ayub Khan (19071974)

In Office: 27 October 1958 25 March 1969

Total Duration: 10 Years, 4 Months, 26 Days
Status: Military Dictator
Political Party: None

3. Yahya Khan (19171980)

In Office: 25 March 1969 20 December 1971

Total Duration: 2 Years, 8 Months, 25 Days
Status: Military Dictator
Political Party: None

4. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (19281979)

In Office: 20 December 1971 13 August 1973

Total Duration: 1 Year, 7 Months, 24 Days
Status: Elected democratically
Political Party: Pakistan Peoples Party

5. Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry (19041982)

In Office: 13 August 1973 16 September 1978

Total Duration: 5 Years, 1 Month, 3 Days
Status: Elected democratically
Political Party: Pakistan Peoples Party

6. Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq (19241988)

In Office: 16 September 1978 17 August 1988

Total Duration: 9 Years, 11 Months, 1 Day
Status: Military Dictator
Political Party: None

7. Ghulam Ishaq Khan (19152006)

In Office: 17 August 1988 18 July 1993

Total Duration: 4 Years, 11 Months, 1 Day
Status: Elected democratically
Political Party: Independent

Wasim Sajjad (Born 1941)

In Office: 18 July 1993 14 November 1993

Total Duration: 3 Months, 27 Days

Status: Acting
Political Party: Pakistan Muslim League (N)

8. Farooq Leghari (19402010)

In Office: 14 November 1993 2 December 1997

Total Duration: 4 Years, 18 Days
Status: Elected democratically
Political Party: Pakistan Peoples Party

Wasim Sajjad (Born 1941)

In Office: 2 December 1997 1 January 1998
Total Duration: 29 Days
Status: Acting
Political Party: Pakistan Muslim League (N)

9. Muhammad Rafiq Tarar (Born 1929)

In Office: 1 January 1998 20 June 2001

Total Duration: 3 Years, 5 Months, 19 Days
Status: Elected democratically
Political Party: Pakistan Muslim League (N)

10. Pervez Musharraf (Born 1943)

In Office: 20 June 2001 18 August 2008

Total Duration: 7 Years, 1 Month, 29 Days

Status: Military Dictator

Political Party: Later affiliated with Pakistan Muslim League (Q)

Muhammad Mian Soomro (Born 1950)

In Office: 18 August 2008 9 September 2008

Total Duration: 22 Days
Status: Acting
Political Party: Pakistan Muslim League (Q)

11. Asif Ali Zardari (Born 1955)

In Office: 9 September 2008 8 September 2013

Total Duration: 5 Years
Status: Elected democratically
Political Party: Pakistan Peoples Party

12. Mamnoon Hussain (Born 1940)

Mamnoon Hussain

In Office: 9 September 2013 Incumbent

Total Duration: 6 months, 3 days and counting
Status: Elected democratically
Political Party: Pakistan Muslim League (N)

Longest Time Served by a Democratically Elected President: Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry (5

Years, 1 Month, 3 Days)

Shortest Time Served by a Democratically Elected President: Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (1 Year,
7 Months, 24 Days)

Number of Democratically Elected Presidents: 7

Total Duration of Democratically Elected Presidents: 22 Years, 37 Months, 95 Days or in

aggregation 25 Years, 10 Months, 18 Days

Longest Time Served by a Military President: Ayub Khan (10 Years, 4 Months, 26 Days)

Shortest Time Served by a Military President: Yahya Khan (2 Years, 8 Months, 25 Days)

Number of Military Presidents: 4

Total Duration of Military Presidents: 28 Years, 24 Months, 81 Days or in aggregation 30

Years, 2 Months, 21 Days

Longest Time Served by an Acting President: Wasim Sajjad (3 Months, 27 Days)

Shortest Time Served by an Acting President: Muhammad Mian Soomro (22 Days)

Number of Acting Presidents: 2

Number of Times Acting Presidents Came: 3 (Two times Wasim Sajjad became the Acting
President)

Total Duration of Acting Presidents: 3 Months, 78 Days or in aggregation 5 Months, 18

Days

Political Party Having the Most Number of Serving Presidents: 4 from Pakistan Peoples
Party (Also 4 times military dictators became presidents).

Total Duration of Presidents from Pakistan Peoples Party: 13 Years, 14 Months, 72 Days
or in aggregation 14 Years, 4 Months, 12 Days