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Chaudhri Mohammad Ali
prime minister of Pakistan
Alternative Title: Chaudhry Muhammad Ali
Chaudhri Mohammad Ali , Chaudhri also spelled Chaudhry, (born July 1905, Jullundur [now Jalandhar], India—died December 1, 1980, Karachi, Pakistan), Pakistani politician who was the fourth prime minister of Pakistan, serving for 13 months in 1955–56. After the partition of British India into India and Pakistan in 1947, Mohammad Ali played an important role in determining how the new Pakistani state would be administered.
Mohammad Ali was educated at the University of the Punjab in Lahore, earning a master's degree in chemistry and lecturing there before joining the civil service. He worked for a time in the accounts department of the British-run government of India and was appointed secretary to the minister of finance. In 1947 he became secretary-general to the government of Pakistan and was finance minister before he was appointed prime minister. During his time in that office, he oversaw the ratification of the constitution of 1956 and, by what came to be known as the "Mohammad Ali formula," settled the division of powers between what were then West and East Pakistan. His solution, however, proved controversial, and the constitution was abrogated in 1958. During the subsequent military dictatorship of Mohammad Ayub Khan, Mohammad Ali led his Muslim League party in opposition to the regime. He also wrote The Emergence of Pakistan (1967), a key study of the country's creation by one of its chief architects.
This article was most recently revised and updated by Kathleen Kuiper, Senior Editor.
Prime minister, the head of government in a country with a parliamentary or semipresidential political system. In such systems, the prime minister—literally the "first," or most important, minister—must be able to command a continuous majority in the legislature (usually the lower house in a bicameral system) to…
Pakistan, populous and multiethnic country of South Asia. Having a predominately Indo-Iranian speaking population, Pakistan has historically and culturally been associated with its neighbours Iran, Afghanistan, and India. Since Pakistan and India achieved independence in 1947, Pakistan has been distinguished from its larger southeastern neighbour by its overwhelmingly Muslim population…
India, country that occupies the greater part of South Asia. It is a constitutional republic consisting of 29 states, each with a substantial degree of control over its own affairs; 6 less fully empowered union territories; and the Delhi national capital territory, which includes New Delhi, India's capital. With roughly…
University of the Punjab
University of the Punjab, residential and affiliating university located in Lahore, Pakistan. Originally Indian, Punjab was founded in 1882 to take on some of the colleges then affiliated with the University of Calcutta, whose jurisdiction included most of northern India and parts of Burma (Myanmar). After the…
Lahore, second largest city of Pakistan and the capital of Punjab province. It lies 811 miles (1,305 km) northeast of Karāchi in the upper Indus plain on the Rāvi River, a tributary of the Indus. Little is known of the…
Jalandhar, India
Karāchi, Pakistan
title / office
prime minister, Pakistan (1955-1956)