Hina Rabbani Khar facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Hina Rabbani Khar
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حنا ربانی کھر
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Khar in 2023
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| Minister of State for Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 19 April 2022 – 10 August 2023 |
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| Prime Minister | Shehbaz Sharif |
| Minister | Bilawal Bhutto Zardari |
| Preceded by | Nawabzada Malik Amad Khan |
| In office 11 February 2011 – 19 July 2011 |
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| Prime Minister | Yusuf Raza Gillani |
| Preceded by | Nawabzada Malik Amad Khan |
| Succeeded by | Nawabzada Malik Amad Khan |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 19 July 2011 – 16 March 2013 |
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| Prime Minister | Yusuf Raza Gillani Raja Pervez Ashraf |
| Preceded by | Shah Mehmood Qureshi |
| Succeeded by | Mir Hazar Khan Khoso (Acting) Sartaj Aziz (de facto) |
| Minister of State for Finance and Economic Affairs | |
| In office 24 March 2008 – 11 February 2011 |
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| Prime Minister | Yusuf Raza Gillani |
| Preceded by | Ali Nazary |
| Succeeded by | Dost Muhammad Mazari |
| Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan | |
| Assumed office 10 February 2024 |
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| Constituency | Reserved seat for women |
| In office 13 August 2018 – 10 August 2023 |
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| Constituency | Reserved seat for women |
| In office 25 May 2013 – 25 May 2018 |
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| Constituency | Reserved seat for women |
| In office 17 March 2008 – 16 March 2013 |
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| Constituency | NA-177 (Muzaffargarh-II) |
| In office 16 November 2002 – 15 November 2007 |
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| Constituency | NA-177 (Muzaffargarh-II) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 19 November 1974 Multan, Punjab, Pakistan |
| Political party |  PPP (2008-present) |
| Other political affiliations |
Pakistan Muslim League Q (2002-2008) |
| Spouse |
Feroze Gulzar
(m. 1999) |
| Children | 3 |
| Parent |
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| Relatives | Ghulam Mustafa Khar (uncle) Aaminah Haq (cousin) |
| Alma mater | Lahore University of Management Sciences University of Massachusetts, Amherst |
Hina Rabbani Khar (Urdu: حنا ربانی کھر; born 19 November 1974) is a Pakistani politician. She served as the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs from April 2022 to August 2023. Before that, in July 2011, she became the Foreign Minister of Pakistan. She was the first woman to hold this important position. Khar was also a member of the National Assembly, which is like the parliament, from August 2018 to August 2023.
Hina Rabbani Khar comes from an important political family in Muzaffargarh. She studied business at LUMS and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She started her political career in 2002 as a member of the National Assembly. At that time, she was part of the PML-Q party. She became a junior minister for economic policy under Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.
In 2009, she joined the Pakistan Peoples Party and was re-elected. She then became the Minister of State for Finance and Economic Affairs. In the same year, she made history by being the first woman to present the country's national budget. Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani appointed her as the Foreign Minister of Pakistan in July 2011. She served in this role until just before the 2013 election. She has always supported stronger ties with India.
She is still a member of the Pakistan People's Party. She often gives speeches about foreign policy. As of 2019, she was a Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan, holding a special seat reserved for women.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Hina Rabbani Khar was born in Multan, Punjab, Pakistan. Her family, the Khar clan, has a long history in politics. Her father, Ghulam Noor Rabbani Khar, was a well-known politician and a member of the National Assembly. Her uncle, Ghulam Mustafa Khar, was also a very important politician. He served as the Governor and Chief Minister of Punjab. Hina Rabbani Khar is married to Feroz Gulzar.
Her Studies
Hina Rabbani Khar earned a Bachelor of Science (with honors) in Economics from the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) in 1999. She then went on to study at the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. There, she received a Master of Science degree in Business Management in 2002.
She has kept in touch with LUMS since she graduated. In 2012, she gave a speech there about "Foreign Policy and Young Democracy." She also helped get funding for the Abdus Salam Institute of Physics.
Political Journey
In the 2002 general elections, Hina Rabbani Khar was elected to the National Assembly. She represented the NA-177 (Muzaffargarh-II) area in Punjab. Her father had represented this area before. However, a new rule said that all candidates needed a university degree. This meant her father and many other family members could not run that year. With her father's support, she ran for the newly formed PML-Q party.
Working in Finance and Economy
Hina Rabbani Khar became well-known during the government of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. In 2003, she was made Parliamentary Secretary for Economic Affairs and Statistics. The next year, she became the Minister of State for Economic Affairs, a role she kept until 2007. In this job, she helped manage international aid after the big earthquake in 2005 in Northern Pakistan. She also worked on plans for the Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India pipeline.
In 2007, she tried to work with the PML-Q party again, but they did not give her a ticket to run in the 2008 elections. After this, she was invited to join the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). She successfully won her election for a second time. The PPP won the most votes and formed a government with other parties.
Minister of State for Finance and Economic Affairs
After being re-elected in 2008, she was appointed Minister of State for Finance and Economic Affairs. This was part of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani's government. She worked on the country's financial budget and economic plans. On June 13, 2009, she successfully presented the 2010 federal budget in Parliament. This made her the first woman politician to present Pakistan's budget in the National Assembly. She also worked on reducing Pakistan's debt in the energy sector.
Becoming Foreign Minister
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On February 11, 2011, Khar was appointed as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs. This meant she was the deputy head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Prime Minister Gillani did not reappoint the previous Foreign Minister, so that position was empty. For five months, she was the acting Foreign Minister. Then, on July 18, she was officially appointed as the Foreign Minister and sworn in on July 19. This made her the youngest and the first female Foreign Minister of Pakistan.
President Asif Ali Zardari said her appointment showed the government's goal to include more women in important national roles. She became Foreign Minister during a challenging time for Pakistan. The country's military was fighting against extreme groups in Western Pakistan. Also, there was strong anti-American feeling after the Raymond Davis incident.
Soon after her appointment, Khar visited India and held peace talks with her Indian counterpart, S. M. Krishna. The relationship between the two countries had been paused after the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Talks only started again in February 2011, five months before her visit. The Indian media paid a lot of attention to her style and appearance. She also met with leaders of the Hurriyat Conference before meeting Indian government officials. This decision was criticized by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), India's largest political party.
In August 2011, she visited China and spoke with Yang Jiechi, the Chinese Foreign Minister.
The NATO strike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers was a major event during her time as Foreign Minister. Khar stated that Pakistan's government had approved a measure that stopped NATO and ISAF forces from using Pakistan's supply routes. Pakistan continued to ask for an apology from the U.S. On June 6, 2012, Khar said that "higher principles should be more important than popular political ideas." She challenged the U.S. to "live up to its democratic ideals by respecting the will of Pakistan’s elected legislature." On December 15, 2011, when the United States stopped financial aid to Pakistan, Khar warned that their actions could lead to losing the fight against terrorism. She said Pakistan could not win without U.S. help.
On January 21, 2012, Khar traveled to Moscow to strengthen relations between Pakistan and Russia. This happened when Pakistan's relationship with the United States was difficult. On this trip, she invited Russian leaders to visit Pakistan. She also spoke about working together and supporting efforts for peace in Afghanistan. On August 12, 2012, while speaking at a meeting in Tehran, Khar said that peace in the region was at risk because of growing tensions about Iran's nuclear program. She believed a peaceful solution was still possible.
During her short visit to Bangladesh on November 9, 2012, Khar was asked by Bangladesh's Foreign Minister, Dipu Moni, to help solve issues between the countries after their independence. Khar encouraged both countries to move forward together.
When the election was being planned, the PPP government finished its five-year term in March 2013. A temporary prime minister and cabinet took over, and Khar was not part of it. This ended her two-year role as Foreign Minister. In April 2013, Khar announced that she would not run in the next general election. This allowed her father, who had previously not been allowed to run, to try and get his seat back. The rule that required candidates to have a university degree had been removed. The PPP party came second in the election. Khar's father lost his bid to get his old seat back, but he won it later in a special election.
Her Impact
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Hina Rabbani Khar is widely recognized for being the youngest and first female Foreign Minister in Pakistan. She took on this role in July 2011 as the 26th Foreign Minister of Pakistan. During her two years as Foreign Minister, she gained a lot of global attention because she was the first woman to hold this position in Pakistan. She was interviewed by famous shows and newspapers. She was also a high-ranking member of the Central Executive Committee of the Pakistan Peoples Party from 2008 until 2013, when she stepped back from active politics. She is seen as one of the most important women in Pakistani politics.
After Being a Minister
After stepping down, Khar has been a very active public speaker. In an interview in December 2015, she said that the US government supported military governments in Pakistan. She has also written articles for Newsweek Pakistan. In June 2016, she spoke out against Pakistan's aggressive approach in the Kashmir conflict. At the Islamabad Literature Festival, she continued to support a closer relationship between India and Pakistan.
Return to Politics in 2018
She was elected to a special seat for women in the National Assembly in the 2018 General Election. She was part of the Pakistan People's Party. On April 19, 2022, she joined the Shehbaz Ministry as the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.
In a Pakistani document that was made public, she suggested that Pakistan should not try to stay neutral between China and the United States. She warned that trying to keep a partnership with the United States might mean losing the full benefits of Pakistan's "real strategic" partnership with China.
Personal Life
Hina Rabbani Khar is married to Feroze Gulzar. They have three children: a son named Ahmed, and two daughters named Annaya and Dina.
Khar is also a co-owner of a restaurant called "Polo Lounge." The first restaurant opened in Lahore in 2002. A second Polo Lounge has since opened in Islamabad's Saidpur Village.
In Pakistan, it is common for family members to follow each other into politics. Hina Rabbani Khar's family has a history in politics. She won her first seat in the national assembly from the same area her father represented. This happened after her father was not allowed to run because he did not have a university degree. Her father's brother also served as the Governor and Chief Minister of Punjab for the same political party. This pattern continued when Khar introduced her brother as the new candidate for her family's area.
See also
