Who is Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan’s new Prime Minister?

Shehbaz Sharif was on Monday elected as Pakistan’s new Prime Minister. He succeeds an ousted Imran Khan in the premier’s office.

Shehbaz, who is little known outside his home country, has a reputation of being an effective administrator more than a politician.

The younger brother of three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Shehbaz, 70, is best known for his direct, “can-do” administrative style.

His effectiveness as an administration was highlighted when, as chief minister of Punjab province, he worked closely with China on Beijing-funded projects.

Shehbaz received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Government College University, Lahore. After completing his education, he joined his family owned Ittefaq Group and got elected president of Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry in 1985.

He served as the chief minister of Punjab thrice, making him the longest-serving CM of the province.

Shehbaz and his family were pushed out of Pakistan after a military coup by General Pervez Musharraf deposed the government in 1999. He returned to Pakistan in 2007 after living in self-exile for years in Saudi Arabia.

In 2019, he was found in a money-laundering case, with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) seizing 23 properties of Shehbaz and his son Hamza Sharif. In September 2020, the NAB arrested Shahbaz at the Lahore high court and indicted him on charges of money laundering. He was incarcerated pending trial.

In April 2021, the Lahore High Court released him on bail in money laundering case.