After a military coup deposed the government in 1999, Sharif spent years of self-exile in Saudi Arabia, returning to Pakistan in 2007. Sharif was appointed Chief Minister for a second term after the PML-N's victory in the province in the 2008 general elections. He was elected as Chief Minister of Punjab for third time in 2013 and served his term until his party's defeat in the 2018 general election. He was nominated as the President of the Pakistan Muslim League-N after his brother Nawaz Sharif was disqualified from holding office. He was nominated as the Leader of the Opposition after the 2018 election.