Muslim League
Which political party did Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry belong to from 1942 to 1967?
Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry Fazal Elahi Chaudhry ( Punjabi , ; 1 January 1904 – 2 June 1982 ) , was a politician who served as the fifth President of Pakistan from 1973 until 1978 , prior to the martial law led by Chief of Army Staff General Zia-ul-Haq . ( see codename Fair Play ) . He also served as the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan from 1965 to 1969 and the 8th Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan from 1972 to 1973 . Early life . Fazal Elahi Chaudhry was born on 1 January 1904 into an influential Gujjar family in Marala village , near the city of Kharian , Gujrat District in Punjab Province . After receiving his education from there , Chaudhry joined the prestigious Aligarh Muslim University in 1920 , receiving his LLB in Civil law in 1924 . Thereafter , Chaudhry returned to Punjab and attended the Punjab Universitys post-graduate school in law and political science . In 1925 , Chaudhry obtained his MA in Political Science in 1925 , and the advanced LLM in Law and Justice , in 1927 . After completing his education , Chaudhry established his law firm in Lahore , advocating for the civil law and liberties , and went back to Gujrat and started practising the civil law . In 1930 , he started taking interest in politics and participated in the Indian general elections in 1930 for the Gujrat District Board and was elected unopposed . Political career . He joined the Muslim League in 1942 . In 1945 , he was elected from Gujrat as the President of Muslim League . He took part in the 1946 elections on Muslim Leagues ticket and played an important role in propagating the ideas of the Muslim League among the people of his area . Upon the independence of Pakistan , Chaudhry got involved in the new government , moving up to high ranking positions in the National Assembly . After the successful promulgation of countrys constitution in 1973 , Chaudhry was elected as the president , succeeded Zulfikar Ali Bhutto , and became the first president of country from the Punjabi class of the Punjab Province . Taking an active role in the Pakistan Movement through the platform of the Muslim League , Chaudhry was appointed minister in the in 1947 , and further joined the Pakistan permanent representatives delegation to the United Nations in 1951 . His presidency was a mere figurehead as per the constitution , since the heading of the governments operations remained the authority of prime minister . After the success of the Fair Play— a codename of the operation to remove Zulfikar Ali Bhutto from power – Chaudhry continued his presidency but had no influence in the government operations or the military and national affairs . After contentious relations with the military , Chaudhry was relinquished from the office after resigning from his presidency , despite the urging of the Chief of Army Staff and Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff . On 16 September 1978 , Chaudhry handed the charge of the presidency to ruling military general Zia-ul-Haq who succeeded him as the sixth president , in addition to being the Chief Martial Law Administrator and the Chief of Army Staff . Speaker of the West Pakistan Assembly . After Independence , he was given the post of Parliamentary Secretary . He was later appointed Minister for Education and Health . In 1951 , he contested the elections of the Punjab Legislative Assembly on the Muslim League ticket and was elected as a member of the Punjab Assembly . In 1952 , he represented Pakistan in the United Nations . In the 1956 elections , he was elected as member of the West Pakistan Assembly . Chaudhry was its Speaker from 20 May 1956 to 7 October 1958 . In 1962 , when Ayub Khan announced the elections , he was selected as the Deputy Opposition Leader of the House on the basis of his experience and knowledge about parliamentary proceedings . Chaudhry joined the Convention Muslim League , and after the 1956 elections , he was elected as the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly . President of Pakistan . He was elected as member of the National Assembly in 1970 on the ticket of the Pakistan Peoples Party and was later elected as the Speaker of the National Assembly . He ended up joining the Pakistan Peoples Party . He contested the Presidential Elections of 1972 against s Khan Amirzadah Khan Of NAP & all opposition parties and was made President in 1973 , when the head of the PPP , Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was made Prime Minister . Chaudhry was largely a figurehead , and was the first Pakistani President with less power than the Prime Minister . This was due to the new constitution of 1973 that gave power to the Prime Minister ; previously , the President had been the chief leader of Pakistan and had the power to appoint Prime Minister . Resignation . Fazal Elahi Chaudhry remained President until 1978 , when he resigned after the military took control of the government under General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq . Death . Chaudhry died on 2 June 1982 at the age of 78 . External links . - Chronicles Of Pakistan