(born 1953). The first woman to attain political leadership of a modern Muslim nation was Benazir Bhutto. In late 1988 she was named the prime minister of Pakistan to succeed Gen. Mohammad Zia ul-Haq—the man who seized the office from her father and later ordered his execution. Within 20 months she was ousted for misconduct; three years later she was back in power. Benazir Bhutto was born on June 21, 1953, in Karachi. While she was attending college in the United States, her father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, became prime minister. After graduation from Harvard University in 1973, she spent three years at Oxford University in England. Her education was frequently interrupted by travels with her father. In 1971, for instance, she was present at the signing of a peace treaty ending the war between India and Pakistan. On July 5, 1977, just after she returned home, her father's government was overthrown in a revolt led by General Zia. Under his repressive military regime, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was imprisoned and then hanged on April 4, 1979. For the next five years Benazir Bhutto was kept either in prison or under house arrest. Zia then sent her into exile in London in 1984. After Zia lifted martial law, she returned home to a triumphant welcome in 1986. Zia, however, remained in firm control of the government until his death under mysterious circumstances in a plane crash on Aug. 17, 1988. In November 1988 free elections were called, and Bhutto led her father's Pakistan People's party to victory. Politically inexperienced, she barely survived a no-confidence vote. Amid allegations of rampant corruption, Bhutto's government was dismissed on Aug. 6, 1990. Her party was decisively defeated in the next elections on Oct. 24, 1990. In the Oct. 6, 1993, elections her party won a plurality, and she became prime minister of a shaky coalition government. |