->Bidisufwet at 10:40, 21 December 2021

2021-12-21T10:40:28Z

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{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2018}}
{{Use Pakistani English|date=November 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Agha Hilaly
| image=File:Ambassador Hilaly receiving US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in Rawalpindi on 8 July 1971.jpg
| caption=Ambassador Hilaly receiving US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in Rawalpindi on 8 July 1971 secretly en route to China
| birth_date = 1911
| birth_place =[[Bangalore]], [[Princely State of Mysore]], [[British Raj|British India]]
| death_date = 6 February 2001
| death_place = [[Karachi]], Pakistan
| spouse = Malik Taj Mirza
| children = 3, including [[Zafar Hilaly]]
| relatives = [[Agha Shahi]] (brother)<br/>[[Shamim Hilaly]] (daughter-in-law)
}}

'''Agha Hilaly''' (1911 – 6 February 2001) ({{lang-ur|آغا هلالی}}) was one of Pakistan's senior most diplomats who held several high offices in the [[Government of Pakistan]], including Pakistan's Ambassador to the United States from 21 October 1966 to 20 October 1971.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/290268-ambassadors-to-the-us-who-s-who |title=(Pakistani) Ambassadors to the US: who's who|author=Sabir Shah|date=9 March 2018|publisher=The News International (newspaper)|accessdate=14 November 2018}}</ref>

==Career and family background==
Hilaly was born in 1911 in [[Bangalore]]. He joined the [[Indian Civil Service]] in 1936 at the age of 25,<ref name=npg>[https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp141303/agha-hilaly Profile of Agha Hilaly on npg.org.uk website (National Portrait Gallery website)] Retrieved 14 November 2018</ref> and opted for Pakistan during the [[Partition of India|independence]] of [[Pakistan]] in 1947 and settled in Pakistan along with his family in 1947.<ref name=npg/> As the [[Government of Pakistan]] was in the process of establishing its foreign service cadre, all officers of the [[Civil Service of Pakistan]] that succeeded the [[Indian Civil Service]] were encouraged to join the new cadre. Hilaly was one of the first to do so and played an important role in shaping the strategic dimensions of Pakistan's foreign policy.

He was Pakistani Ambassador to the Scandinavian countries with residence in [[Stockholm]] from 1956 to 1959.<ref name=npg/> In 1959 he was appointed Ambassador to [[Moscow]] and concurrently to [[Prague]], till 1961, when he was assigned to [[India]].
While representing Pakistan at the [[United Nations]] and serving as Ambassador to the [[United States]].<ref name=npg/> In the latter position, he facilitated the secret visit of US Secretary of State [[Henry Kissinger]] to China, a fact acknowledged by President [[Richard Nixon]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu//NSAEBB/NSAEBB66/ch-06.pdf | title=Chinese Communist Initiative | publisher=The White House | first=Henry A. | last=Kissinger | accessdate=24 August 2018 | via=gwu.edu }}</ref> His younger brother [[Agha Shahi]] also an ICS officer followed in his footsteps and rose to be Foreign Minister of Pakistan. One of their uncles Sir [[Mirza Ismail]] served as Diwan [[Prime Minister]] of the princely state of [[Mysore]], [[Jaipur]] and [[Hyderabad, India]] from 1926 to 1947. His nephew Akbar Mirza Khaleeli was a prominent Indian Diplomat and served as Indian Ambassador to Iran, Italy and Australia and was Advisor to the Indian Government on Middle Eastern Affairs. His son [[Zafar Hilaly]] is also a former ambassador of [[Pakistan]].<ref name=RazaRumi>[https://archive.today/20120907031332/http://www.razarumi.com/2008/09/20/from-persia-to-pakistan-via-mysore/ From Persia to Pakistan, via Mysore] Raza Rumi's website (archived), Published 20 September 2008, Retrieved 14 November 2018</ref>

==Awards and recognition==
Agha Hilaly received several international awards, including:
* Hilal-i-Quiad-I-Azam in Pakistan.
* Grand Cross of Order of Northern Star from Sweden.
* Grand Cross of Order of Gurkha from Nepal.

==Death==
Agha Hilaly died in [[Karachi]] on 6 February 2001, at the age of 90.<ref name="impact_obit">{{cite journal|year=2001|title=Obituaries : Agha Hilaly|journal=Impact International |volume=31-32|pages=47}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-dip}}
{{succession box
|title=Pakistan Ambassador to Stockholm
|years=1956 to 1959
|before=S. M. Burke
|after=Khwaj i Mohammad Kaiser
}}

{{succession box
|title=Pakistan Ambassador to Moscow
|years=1959 to 1961
|before=Sikander Ali Baig
|after=[[Mian Arshad Hussain]]
}}

{{succession box
|title=Pakistan High Commissioner to New-Delhi
|years=1961 to 1963
|before=[[Allah Bukhsh Karim Bukhsh Brohi]]
|after=[[Mian Arshad Hussain]]
}}

{{succession box
|title=Pakistan High Commissioner to London
|years=1965
|before=[[Mohammad Yusuf (prime minister)]]
|after=Samiullah Khan Dehlavi
}}

{{succession box
|title=[[Pakistan Ambassador to the United States]]
|years=1966–1971
|before=Ghulam Ahmed
|after=[[Nawabzada Agha Mohammad Raza]]
}}
{{end}}

{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hilaly, Agha}}
[[Category:1911 births]]
[[Category:2001 deaths]]
[[Category:Politicians from Bangalore]]
[[Category:Muhajir people]]
[[Category:Pakistani Shia Muslims]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of Pakistan to the United States]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of Pakistan to the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Indian Civil Service (British India) officers]]
[[Category:People from Karachi]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of Pakistan to Sweden]]
[[Category:High Commissioners of Pakistan to India]]
[[Category:High Commissioners of Pakistan to the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Pakistani diplomats]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of Pakistan to Czechoslovakia]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of Pakistan to Russia]]

Agha Hilaly - Revision history

->Bidisufwet at 10:40, 21 December 2021