BrigitteHosking at 16:17, 4 April 2026

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{{short description|Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1955 to 1956}}
{{hatnote group|
{{About-distinguish-text|the fourth prime minister of Pakistan|the third prime minister of Pakistan, [[Mohammad Ali Bogra]]}}
{{Similar names|Mohammad Ali (disambiguation)}}
}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Chaudhri Muhammad Ali
| native_name = چوہدری محمد علی
| native_name_lang = ur
| image = Mohamad Ali, primeiro-ministro do Paquistão, sem data.tif
| image_upright =
| alt =
| caption =
| order = 4th
| office = Prime Minister of Pakistan
| term_start = 12 August 1955
| term_end = 12 September 1956
| alongside = 
| monarch = [[Elizabeth II]] (until 1956)
| president = [[Iskander Mirza]] (from 1956)
| governor_general = Iskander Mirza (until 1956)
| taoiseach =
| chancellor =
| governor =
| deputy =
| lieutenant =
| succeeding = 
| constituency =
| majority =
| predecessor = [[Mohammad Ali Bogra]]
| successor = [[Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy]]
| prior_term = 
| order2 = [[Minister of Defence (Pakistan)|Minister of Defence]]
| office2 =
| term_start2 = 12 August 1955
| term_end2 = 12 September 1956
| deputy2 = [[Akhter Husain]] ([[Defence Secretary (Pakistan)|Defence Secretary]])
| lieutenant2 = 
| succeeding2 = 
| predecessor2 = [[General Ayub Khan]]
| successor2 = Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy
| parliamentary_group2 = 
| constituency2 = 
| majority2 = 
| prior_term2 = 

| order3 = 2nd [[Minister of Finance (Pakistan)|Minister of Finance]]
| office3 =
| term_start3 = 24 October 1951
| term_end3 = 11 August 1955
| deputy3 = Mumtaz Hasan ([[Finance Secretary (Pakistan)|Finance Secretary]])
| predecessor3 = [[Ghulam Muhammad (governor-general)|Ghulam Muhammad]]
| successor3 = [[Syed Amjad Ali|Amjad Ali]]

| order4 = [[Federal Secretary]]
| office4 =
| alongside4 =
| term_start4 = 14 August 1947
| term_end4 = 24 October 1955

| order5 = [[Finance Secretary of Pakistan]]
| office5 =
| 1blankname5 = {{nowrap|[[Federal Minister of Pakistan|Minister]]}}
| 1namedata5 = Ghulam Muhammad
| alongside5 = [[Victor Turner (civil servant)|Sir Victor Turner]]
| term_start5 = 14 August 1947
| term_end5 = 12 September 1948

| order6 = 
| office6 =
| term_start6 = 2 September 1946
| term_end6 = 14 August 1947
| 1blankname6 = Minister
| 1namedata6 = [[Liaquat Ali Khan]]
| predecessor6 = Ghulam Muhammad
| successor6 = Sir Victor Turner

| order7 = [[Muslim League (Pakistan)|President of Pakistan Muslim League]]
| office7 =
| term_start7 = 12 August 1955
| term_end7 = 12 September 1956
| predecessor7 = Mohammad Ali Bogra
| successor7 = [[I. I. Chundrigar]]

| pronunciation =
| birth_name = Chaudhry Muhammad Ali
| birth_date = {{birth date|1905|7|15|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Jalandhar]], India
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1982|12|02|1905|07|15}}
| death_place = [[Karachi]], Pakistan
| citizenship = {{ubl|[[British subject]] (until 1947)|[[Pakistani]] (from 1947)}}
| party = [[Nizam-e-Islam Party|Nizam-e-Islam]] (until 1969)
| other_party = [[All-India Muslim League|Muslim League]] (1936–1956)
| height = 
| partner = 
| relations =
| children = 5, including  [[Khalid Anwer|Khalid]]
| parents = 
| mother = 
| father = 
| relatives =
| education =
| alma_mater = [[University of the Punjab|Punjab University]] {{avoid wrap|([[Bachelor of Science|BSc]] and [[Master of Science|MSc]])}}
| occupation = {{hlist|Civil servant|politician}}
| profession =
| known_for =
| salary =
| net_worth = 
| cabinet =
| committees =
| portfolio =
| awards =
| signature =
| signature_alt =
| website =
}}

'''Chaudhri Muhammad Ali'''{{efn|[[Punjabi language|Punjabi]], [[Urdu]]: {{lang|ur|{{nq|چوہدری محمد علی}}}}}} (15 July 1905 – 2 December 1982) was a Pakistani politician and statesman who served as the fourth [[prime minister of Pakistan]] from 1955 until his resignation in 1956. His government oversaw the promulgation of the [[Constitution of Pakistan of 1956|first Pakistani constitution]], transitioning Pakistan from a [[Dominion of Pakistan|dominion]] to a [[Pakistan|republic]].

He resigned from the position of Prime Minister in 1956, and from the [[Muslim League (Pakistan)|Muslim League]] as well, when he failed at healing rifts with Muslim League, and a new party, named as Republican Party. His credibility is noted for promulgating the [[Constitution of Pakistan of 1956|first set]] of the [[Constitution of Pakistan]] lost political endorsement from his party when failing to investigate the allegations on [[vote rigging]] and the [[Horse trading (political)|secret defections]] in favour of the [[Republican Party (Pakistan)|Republican Party]].<ref name="Nazaria-i-Pakistan Trust, et.al, 2003 (Muhammad Ali Becomes Prime Minister)">{{cite web |title=Chaudhry Muhammad Ali Becomes Prime Minister |url=http://storyofpakistan.com/chaudhry-muhammad-ali-becomes-prime-minister |website=storyofpakistan.com |publisher=Nazaria-i-Pakistan Trust |access-date=29 January 2018 |location=Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan |language=en-pk |date=1 June 2003}}</ref>

==Early life and education==
Muhammad Ali was born in [[Jalandhar district|Jalandhar]], [[Punjab, British India|Punjab]] on 15 July 1905 into an [[Arain]] [[Punjabi Muslims|Punjabi]] family.<ref name="Nazaria-i-Pakistan Trust, el.al, 2003 (Bio)">{{cite web |title=Chaudhry Muhammad Ali–Former Prime Minister of Pakistan |url=http://storyofpakistan.com/chaudhry-muhammad-ali |website=storyofpakistan.com |publisher=Nazaria-i-Pakistan Trust |access-date=11 April 2016 |location=Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan |language=en-pk |date=1 June 2003}}</ref><ref name="Westview Press, Burki, LePorte, et.al. (1991)">{{cite book |last1=Burki |first1=Shahid Javed |last2=Baxter |first2=Craig |author2-link=Craig Baxter |last3=LaPorte |first3=Robert |last4=Azfar |first4=Kamal |title=Pakistan Under the Military: Eleven Years of Zia Ul-Haq |date=1991 |publisher=Westview Press |location=New York City |isbn=9780813379852 |page=4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UG5uAAAAMAAJ&q=most+civil+servant+ |access-date=29 January 2018 |language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Naz |first1=Huma |title=Bureaucratic Elites & Political Developments in Pakistan, 1947-58 |date=1990 |publisher=National Institute of Pakistan Studies, Quaid-i-Azam University |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AteNAAAAMAAJ&q=+Mohammad+Ali |page=157 |access-date=29 January 2018 |language=en}}</ref>

After his [[Matriculation in Pakistan|matriculation]], Muhammad Ali showed great aptitude for science, first moving to attend the [[University of the Punjab|Punjab University]] in [[Lahore]] where he read and graduated with [[Bachelor of Science|BSc degree]] in [[chemistry]] in 1925.<ref name="Routledge, Kumarasingham">{{cite book |last1=Kumarasingham |first1=H. |title=Constitution-making in Asia: Decolonisation and State-Building in the Aftermath of the British Empire |date=2016 |publisher=Routledge |location=Cambridge, UK |isbn=9781317245100 |page=106 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YQfeCwAAQBAJ&q=muhammad+ali+Prime+Minister+secretary&pg=PA106 |access-date=29 January 2018 |language=en-uk}}</ref> In 1927, Muhammad Ali attained [[Master of Science|MSc]] in chemistry from [[Punjab University, Lahore|Punjab University]], and lectured at the [[Islamia College (Lahore)|Islamia College]] until 1928.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Blattner |first1=Elwyn James |last2=Blattner |first2=James Elwyn |title=Who's who in U.A.R. and the Near East |date=1955 |publisher=Paul Barbey Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DB5XAAAAMAAJ&q=July+16%2C+1905+%3B |page=294 |access-date=29 January 2018 |language=fr}}</ref><ref name="Routledge, Kumarasingham"/><ref name="Nazaria-i-Pakistan Trust, et.al, 2003 (Muhammad Ali Becomes Prime Minister)" /><ref name="Encyclopedia Britannica">{{cite encyclopedia |title=Chaudhri Mohammad Ali—prime minister of Pakistan |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Chaudhri-Muhammad-Ali |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=29 January 2018 |location=London, Eng. U.K. |language=en-uk}}</ref>

== Civil service career ==

=== British India ===
In 1928, Muhammad Ali went to join the [[Indian Civil Service (British India)|Indian Civil Service]], first working as an [[Chartered accountant|accountant]] at the [[Indian Audits and Accounts Service|Audit and Accounts Service]] and was [[Secondment|deputed]] to audit the [[Bahawalpur (princely state)|Bahawalpur state]].<ref name="Nazaria-i-Pakistan Trust, el.al, 2003 (Bio)" /> In 1936, Muhammad Ali was moved as [[Private Secretary]] to [[James Grigg]], the [[Finance Minister of India]], who later appointed him as the First Indian financial adviser when [[P. J. Grigg|Grigg]] was appointed the [[Secretary of State for War|War Secretary]] in 1945.<ref name="Nazaria-i-Pakistan Trust, el.al, 2003 (Bio)" /> In 1946–47, Muhammad Ali was selected to serve as one of two [[Secretary (government)|secretaries]] to the [[Partition of India#1946 election|Partition Council]] presided over by [[Lord Mountbatten]], later appointed [[Finance Secretary (India)|Finance Secretary]] at the [[Ministry of Finance (India)|Ministry of Finance]].<ref name="Nazaria-i-Pakistan Trust, el.al, 2003 (Bio)" /> Over this issue of partition, Muhammad Ali worked with [[Hirubhai M. Patel|H.M. Patel]] and [[Walter John Christie|Walter Christir]] to prepare a document titled ''The Administrative Consequences of Partition''.<ref>John Christie ''Morning Drum'' BACSA 1983 {{ISBN|0-907799-04-3}} pp95-102</ref>

=== Pakistan ===
At the time of the [[Partition of India|India's partition]] in 1947, Muhammad Ali opted for [[Pakistan]].<ref name="ABC-CLIO, Lyon, 2008">{{cite book |last1=Lyon |first1=Peter |year=2008 |title=Conflict Between India and Pakistan: An Encyclopedia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vLwOck15eboC&pg=PA9 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |page=9 |isbn=978-1-57607-712-2 |quote=In 1947 he became secretary-general to the government [of Pakistan] ... Mirza did not want Suhrawardy to replace him [Choudhury Muhammad Ali] as prime minister and tried energetically but unsuccessfully to dissuade Choudhury Muhammad Ali from resigning. But Suhrawardy's appointment as prime minister was nonetheless forthcoming ... During the early years of the Mohammed Ayub Khan regime, Ali acted as an adviser to the National Bank of Pakistan. In 1962 he joined the opposition, but soon increasing frailty prevented him from playing an active or formal role.}}</ref>

After the [[Independence of Pakistan|establishment]] of Pakistan in 1947, Muhammad Ali was moved as the [[Finance Secretary of Pakistan|Finance Secretary]] under Finance Minister [[Malik Ghulam Muhammad|Sir Ghulam Muhammad]], along with [[Victor Turner (civil servant)|Victor Turner]], but this appointment lasted until 1948 due a cabinet reshuffle.<ref name="Nazaria-i-Pakistan Trust, el.al, 2003 (Bio)" /> He was appointed the [[Federal Secretary]] at the [[Establishment Division]], and aided greatly in setting up the [[Central Superior Services|civil bureaucracy]] and preparing the nation's [[First Five-Year Plans (Pakistan)|first]] [[Five-Year Plans of Pakistan|federal budget]] presented by Finance Minister Sir Ghulam Muhammad in 1951.<ref name="Nazaria-i-Pakistan Trust, el.al, 2003 (Bio)" />

== Finance Minister of Pakistan (1951–1955) ==
In 1951, Muhammad Ali was appointed the [[Finance Minister of Pakistan|Finance Minister]] by Prime Minister [[Khawaja Nazimuddin|K. Nazimuddin]] and was announced to be kept in the [[Ministry of Finance (Pakistan)|Finance ministry]] in [[Mohammad Ali Bogra#Talent ministry and foreign policy|Bogra's Talent ministry]] in 1953.<ref name="Ferozsons, Khuhro, 1998">{{cite book |last1=Khuhro |first1=Hamida |title=Mohammed Ayub Khuhro: a life of courage in politics |date=1998 |publisher=Ferozsons |location=Karachi, Pakistan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nSluAAAAMAAJ&q=chaudhry+muhammad+ali+Prime+Minister+removed |page=405 |isbn=9789690014245 |access-date=29 January 2018 |language=en}}</ref>

== Premiership (1955–1956) ==
On 11 August 1955, Muhammad Ali was appointed the [[Prime Minister of Pakistan]] by then-[[Governor-General of Pakistan|Governor-General]] [[Iskandar Mirza]], upon the dismissal of the Bogra's Talent administration.<ref name="Nazaria-i-Pakistan Trust, et.al, 2003 (Muhammad Ali Becomes Prime Minister)" /> Prime Minister Ali placed a great emphasis on drafting the [[Constitution of Pakistan of 1956|Constitution of Pakistan]], and implemented the [[One Unit]] scheme despite regional opposition.<ref name="Infobase Publishing, Wynbrandt, 2009">{{cite book |last1=Wynbrandt |first1=James |title=A Brief History of Pakistan |date=2009 |publisher=Facts On File |isbn=9780816061846 |page=178 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xQGwgJnCPZgC&q=chaudhry+Muhammad+Ali+appointed++prime+minister&pg=PA178 |access-date=29 January 2018 |language=en}}</ref>

He favored French architect [[Michel Ecochard]] over Greek architect [[Constantinos Apostolou Doxiadis|Constantinos Doxiadis]] for the [[Developments in Islamabad|planning of the new capital]] in 1955, though the project nonetheless went Doxiadis in the 1960s.<ref name="Routledge, Bates and Mio, 2015">{{cite book |last1=Bates |first1=Crispin |last2=Mio |first2=Minoru |title=§Cities in South Asia |date=2015 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781317565130 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JU2sCQAAQBAJ&q=chaudhry+Muhammad+Ali+Finance+minister&pg=PA72 |page=72 |language=en-us}}</ref>

It was during his term that the first Constitution of Pakistan was promulgated, on 23 March 1956, where the [[nation-state]] was declared as [[Islamic republic]] with a [[parliamentary form of government]].<ref name="Nazaria-i-Pakistan Trust, et.al. (Const, 1956)">{{cite web |title=The Constitution of 1956 |url=http://storyofpakistan.com/the-constitution-of-1956 |website=storyofpakistan.com |publisher=Nazaria-i-Pakistan Trust |access-date=29 January 2018 |date=1 June 2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151125103457/http://storyofpakistan.com/the-constitution-of-1956 |archive-date=25 November 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> His premiership was endorsed by President Iskandar Mirza and the three-party [[coalition government]] composing of [[Awami League]], [[Pakistan Muslim League|Muslim League]] and the [[Republican Party (Pakistan)|Republican Party]] at the [[National Assembly of Pakistan|National Assembly]].<ref name="Nazaria-i-Pakistan Trust, et.al, 2003 (Muhammad Ali Becomes Prime Minister)" /> In 1955, Prime Minister Ali took over the [[President of Pakistan Muslim League|party presidency]].<ref name="Nazaria-i-Pakistan Trust, et.al, 2003 (Muhammad Ali Becomes Prime Minister)" />

In July 1956, Muhammad Ali met with the Indian Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru of India in an attempt to settle the key issue that was preventing the normalization of relations between Pakistan and India. This was the issue of Kashmir that had been divided between India and Pakistan in 1948. That issue remains unsettled to this day.

Despite his feat, Prime Minister Muhammad Ali proved to be a poor politician who failed to maintain control over his party when he reached a compromise to dismissed the cabinet members of his own party in favor of appointing the cabinet composing of Republican Party and Awami League in 1955–56.<ref name="Nazaria-i-Pakistan Trust, et.al, 2003 (Muhammad Ali Becomes Prime Minister)" /> After appointing [[Khan Abdul Jabbar Khan|Abdul Jabbar Khan]] as the [[Chief Minister of Pakistan|Chief minister of West-Pakistan]] who subsequently helped in [[Vote trading|secret trading]] in favor of Republican Party that made the Republicans in [[majority]] in the National Assembly, the Muslim League demanded its president to investigate the matter but Prime Minister Ali refused to support the [[Resolution (law)|parliamentary resolution]] in the National Assembly by believing that "he was responsible only to the [[Cabinet of Pakistan|Cabinet]] and the [[Parliament of Pakistan|Parliament]], not the party."<ref name="Nazaria-i-Pakistan Trust, et.al, 2003 (Muhammad Ali Becomes Prime Minister)" />

On 8 September 1956, the parliamentary leaders of the Muslim League under [[Abdul Qayyum Khan|A.Q. Khan]], successfully brought the [[motion of no confidence]] at the National Assembly that effectively removed him from the party's presidency.<ref name="Nazaria-i-Pakistan Trust, et.al, 2003 (Muhammad Ali Becomes Prime Minister)" /> Despite support from President Mirza, Prime Minister Ali eventually resigned when [[Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy|Huseyn S. Suhrawardy]] gained support from the Muslim League for the premiership.<ref name="ABC-CLIO, Lyon, 2008" />

==Post-resignation==
After his resignation, Ali joined the [[National Bank of Pakistan|National Bank]] as an advisor. He tried playing a role in [[Politics of Pakistan|national politics]] in the 1960s,<ref name="ABC-CLIO, Lyon, 2008" /> but was [[Ostracism|ostracized]] by the Muslim League due to his political role played in 1950s.{{citation needed|date=March 2020}}

His son, [[Khalid Anwer]], served as the [[Law Minister of Pakistan|law and justice minister]] in [[Nawaz Sharif]]'s administrations while his younger son, Amjad Ahsan Ali, is a [[physician|medical doctor]]. In 1967, he wrote his memoir, ''[[The Emergence of Pakistan]]''. He died due to a [[cardiac arrest]] on 2 December 1982 in [[estate (land)|estate]] in [[Karachi]] where he [[List of cemeteries in Karachi|was buried]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Asian Recorder |date=1981 |publisher=K. K. Thomas at Recorder Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i5ttAAAAMAAJ&q=chaudhry+mohammad+ali+pm+of+pakistan+died+1982 |access-date=29 January 2018 |language=en}}</ref>

== Books ==

* ''[[The Emergence of Pakistan]],'' Research Society of Pakistan'','' 1967, 418 p.
* ''[[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk|Ataturk]]'', Ilaqi Saqafati Idarah, 1969, 320 p.

==See also==
* [[Political history of Pakistan|Parliamentary history of Pakistan]]
* [[History of Pakistan|Central coalition government of Pakistan (1954–58)]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090402114442/http://therepublicofrumi.com/47.htm Chronicles Of Pakistan]
* {{cite book |last1=Ali |first1=Chaudhri Mohammad |title=The emergence of Pakistan. |date=1967 |publisher=Columbia University Press |location=New York City |isbn=978-0231029339 |pages=427 |language=en}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Malik Ghulam Muhammad]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Finance Minister of Pakistan|Minister of Finance]]|years=1951–1955}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Syed Amjad Ali|Amjad Ali]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Muhammad Ali Bogra]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Prime Minister of Pakistan]]|years=1955–1956}}
{{s-aft|rows=2|after={{nowrap|[[Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy]]}}}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Ayub Khan (Field Marshal)|Ayub Khan]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Defence Minister of Pakistan|Minister of Defence]]|years=1955–1956}}
{{s-end}}

{{PakistaniPMs}}
{{Finance Minister of Pakistan}}
{{Finance Secretary of Pakistan}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ali, Chaudhry Mohammad}}
[[Category:1905 births]]
[[Category:1982 deaths]]
[[Category:Prime ministers of Pakistan]]
[[Category:British special advisers]]
[[Category:Ministers of finance of Pakistan]]
[[Category:Finance secretaries of Pakistan]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the Government Islamia College]]
[[Category:Members of the Pakistan Philosophical Congress]]
[[Category:Pakistan Movement activists from Punjab]]
[[Category:Pakistan Muslim League politicians]]
[[Category:Pakistani civil servants]]
[[Category:Pakistani democracy activists]]
[[Category:Pakistani chemists]]
[[Category:Pakistani economists]]
[[Category:Pakistani financiers]]
[[Category:People from Jalandhar district]]
[[Category:People from Punjab Province (British India)]]
[[Category:Politicians from Karachi]]
[[Category:Politicians from Lahore]]
[[Category:Politicians from Punjab, Pakistan]]
[[Category:Punjabi Muslims]]
[[Category:University of the Punjab alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century Pakistani memoirists]]
[[Category:20th-century British businesspeople]]
[[Category:20th-century Pakistani male writers]]
[[Category:20th-century chemists]]

Chaudhri Muhammad Ali - Revision history

BrigitteHosking at 16:17, 4 April 2026