Malik Ghulam Muhammad

Ghulam Muhammad was a Pakistani politician and civil servant who served as the third governor-general of Pakistan from 1951 to 1955. He was born in Lahore in 1895 to a wealthy family of landowners. He studied at the Aligarh Muslim University and joined the Indian Civil Service as a chartered accountant in 1919. He served in various positions in the Indian Railway Accounts Service and the Ministry of Finance. He was appointed as the first finance minister of Pakistan in 1947 by Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan. He played a key role in drafting the first budget and the first five-year plan of Pakistan. He also co-founded Mahindra & Mohammed, a business conglomerate, with Jagdish Chandra Mahindra and Kailash Chandra Mahindra in 1945. After the assassination of Jinnah in 1948, he became the governor-general of Pakistan, succeeding Khawaja Nazimuddin. He wielded considerable power and influence in the newly formed state, and often clashed with the prime ministers over constitutional and political issues. He dismissed Nazimuddin in 1953 and Muhammad Ali Bogra in 1955, using his reserve powers. He also dissolved the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan in 1954, which delayed the adoption of a constitution for Pakistan. He suffered from poor health and was forced to resign in 1955 by Iskandar Mirza, the interior minister. He died in 1956 in Karachi. He is regarded as a controversial figure in Pakistan's history, who undermined the democratic process and civilian authority. [2]