Liaquat Ali Khan [key], 1895–1951, first prime minister of Pakistan. He was educated at Aligarh Muslim Univ. and at Oxford and was admitted to the English bar in 1922. A year later he joined the Muslim League. He served (1926–40) in the United Provs. legislative council, and while there he became (1936) general secretary of the Muslim League; thereafter he was chief lieutenant to Muhammad Ali Jinnah. He represented the Muslim League in the Central Legislative Assembly of India from 1940 to 1946, when he was appointed to the interim Indian government organized by the British to prepare the way for India's independence. With the creation of Pakistan (Aug., 1947) he became prime minister of the new dominion. He was assassinated in 1951.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: South Asian History: Biographies