December 2 - Benazir Bhutto

This Day in History: 2 December 2019

 

2 December 1988

 

31 years ago, today, Benazir Bhutto was sworn in as the Prime Minister of Pakistan, making her the first woman leader of a Muslim nation. She was the daughter of Pakistan's former leader, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, and after his execution in 1979 due to the military dictator, Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq, became the head of her father's party, the Pakistan People's Party. Returning to Pakistan from exile after the lifting of martial law (the temporary rule by military authorities), she soon became a prominent figure in opposition to President Zia. He later died in 1988, and in the following elections, Benazir's PPP won the largest bloc of seats in the National Assembly, and became Prime Minister, heading a coalition government.

 

In these first years of being Prime Minister, she was unable to do much about Pakistan's widespread poverty, governmental corruption and increasing crime, and so her party suffered a defeat in the 1990 national elections. Three years later, her party won and became the head of a coalition government again, but also once more, was faced with allegations of corruption and a decline of law and order, so was dismissed again in 1996. After further convictions of corruption upon her and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, she remained in exile in London and Dubai in the late 1990s. In October 2007, Benazir returned from Dubai, but celebrations of her return were imposed upon by a suicide attack on her motorcade, resulting in the deaths of many of her supporters. A similar attack was carried out in December while campaigning for upcoming parliamentary elections, and Benazir was assassinated.

 

Want to find out more about Benazir Bhutto and her time in Pakistan and as Prime Minister? Visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benazir_Bhutto for more details.