List of heads of state of Pakistan

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Last edited February 15, 2026

Template:Use Pakistani English

Template:Politics of Pakistan

Fifteen individuals have served as head of state of Pakistan, from the foundation of Pakistan in 1947 to the present day. The current head of state of Pakistan is Asif Ali Zardari, elected in 2024 after being nominated by the Pakistan People's Party.[1]

From 1947 to 1956 the head of state was the Pakistani monarch, who was the same person as the monarch of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms. The Monarch was represented in Pakistan by the Governor-General. Pakistan became a republic under the Constitution of 1956 and the Monarch and Governor-General were replaced by a ceremonial President.

Monarchy (1947–1956)

Template:Main The succession to the throne of Pakistan was the same as the succession to the British throne.

Template:Abbr Portrait Monarch
Template:Small 		Reign Prime ministers
Start End Total
1 George VI
Template:Small 		14 August 1947 6 February 1952 Template:Ayd Khan
Nazimuddin
2 Elizabeth II
Template:Small 		6 February 1952 23 March 1956 Template:Ayd
Bogra
Ali

Governors-General

Template:Main The Governor-General was the representative of the monarch in Pakistan and exercised most of the powers of the monarch. The Governor-General was appointed for an indefinite term, serving at the pleasure of the monarch. After the passage of the Statute of Westminster 1931, the Governor-General was appointed solely on the advice of the Cabinet of Pakistan without the involvement of the British government. In the event of a vacancy the Chief Justice served as Officer Administering the Government.

Template:Abbr Portrait Name
Template:Small 		Term of office Monarch
Template:Small
Took office Left office Time in office
1 File:Jinnah1945c.jpg Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Template:Small 		14 August 1947 11 September 1948 Template:Ayd Error creating thumbnail:
George VI
Template:Small
Office vacant (Template:Dts – Template:Dts)
2 File:Khawaja Nazimuddin.jpg Sir Khawaja Nazimuddin
Template:Small 		14 September 1948 17 October 1951 Template:Ayd
3 File:Malik Muhammad.jpg Sir Ghulam Muhammad
Template:Small 		17 October 1951 7 August 1955 Template:Ayd
File:Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (1959).jpg
Elizabeth II
Template:Small
4 File:Iskander Mirza.jpg Iskander Mirza
Template:Small 		7 August 1955 23 March 1956 Template:Ayd

Republic (1956–present)

Under the 1956 Constitution, the first constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the President replaced the monarch as ceremonial head of state. The President was elected by the Electoral College for a five-year term. In the event of a vacancy the Chairman of the Senate served as Acting President.

Presidents

Template:Transcluded section {{#section-h:List of presidents of Pakistan|Presidents}}

Timeline

<timeline>ImageSize=width:1000 height:auto barincrement:13 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:100 right:100 left:20 AlignBars = late

Define $now = 29/07/2026

Colors = 

 id:independent value:gray(0.8) legend:Unaffiliated
 id:military value:rgb(0.76,0.69,0.57) legend:Military
 id:RP value:rgb(0.45,0.50,0.99) legend: Republican_Party
 id:MLC value:rgb(0.09,0.68,0.79) legend: Pakistani_Muslim_League_(C)
 id:PPP value:black legend: Pakistan_People's_Party
 id:MLN value:rgb(0.22,0.50,0.29) legend: Pakistan_Muslim_League_(N)
 id:MLQ value:rgb(0.22,0.90,0.29) legend: Pakistan_Muslim_League_(Q)
 id:PTI value:red legend: Pakistan_Tehreek-e-Insaf

 id:gray1  value:gray(0.85)
 id:gray2  value:gray(0.95)

DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1956 till:31/12/2027 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:1960 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:1956

Legend = columns:3 left:150 top:70 columnwidth:170

TextData = 

 pos:(20,75) textcolor:black fontsize:M
 text:"Political Parties:"

BarData = 

bar:Mirza
bar:AKhan
bar:YKhan
bar:Bhutto
bar:Chaudhry
bar:Zia-ulHaq
bar:GIK
bar:Sajjad
bar:Leghari
bar:Rafiq_Tarar
bar:Musharraf
bar:Mian_Soomro
bar:Zardari
bar:Hussain
bar:Alvi

PlotData = 

 width:5 align:left fontsize:9 shift:(5,-4) anchor:till
bar:Mirza
 from: 23/03/1956 till: 27/10/1958 color:RP text:"Iskander Mirza"
bar:AKhan
 from: 27/10/1958 till: 08/06/1962 color:Military
 from: 08/06/1962 till: 25/03/1969 color:MLC text:"Ayub Khan
bar:YKhan
 from: 25/03/1969 till: 20/12/1971 color:Military text:"Yahya Khan"
bar:Bhutto
 from: 20/12/1971 till: 14/08/1973 color:PPP text:"Zulfikar Ali Bhutto"
bar:Chaudhry
 from: 14/08/1973 till: 16/09/1978 color:PPP text:"Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry"
bar:Zia-ulHaq
 from: 16/09/1978 till: 17/08/1988 color:Military text:"Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq"
bar:GIK
 from: 17/08/1988 till: 18/07/1993 color:Independent text:"Ghulam Ishaq Khan"
bar:Sajjad
 from: 18/07/1993 till: 14/11/1993 color:MLN 
 from: 02/12/1997 till: 01/01/1998 color:MLN text:"Wasim Sajjad"
bar:Leghari
 from: 14/11/1993 till: 02/12/1997 color:PPP text:"Farooq Leghari"
bar:Rafiq_Tarar
 from: 01/01/1998 till: 20/06/2001 color:MLN text:"Muhammad Rafiq Tarar"
bar:Musharraf
 from: 20/06/2001 till: 15/10/2007 color:Military
 from: 15/10/2007 till: 18/08/2008 color:MLQ text:"Pervez Musharraf"
bar:Mian_Soomro
 from: 18/08/2008 till: 09/09/2008 color:MLN text:"Muhammad Mian Soomro"
bar:Zardari
 from: 09/09/2008 till: 09/09/2013 color:PPP
 from: 10/03/2024 till: $now         color:PPP text:"Asif Ali Zardari"
bar:Hussain
 from: 09/09/2013 till: 09/09/2018 color:MLN text:"Mamnoon Hussain"
bar:Alvi
 from: 09/09/2018 till: 10/03/2024      color:PTI text:"Arif Alvi"

</timeline>

See also

Notes

Template:Notelist

References

  1. ↑ Asif Ali Zardari Elected President of Pakistan 2024, Younas, Mobeen. president.gov.pk(2024-03-10). Retrieved 2024-03-10.

Template:Heads of State of Pakistan

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