Yousaf Raza Gillani – a brief profile

Yousaf Raza Gillani, a PPP loyalist and the 17th prime minister of Pakistan, will become the first man to hold the positions of premier, National Assembly speaker, and Chairman Senate if he win's today's Chairman Senate elections. 

The former prime minister was born in Karachi on June 9, 1952, to a politically and spiritually influential family. Gillani's father Makhdoom Alamdar Hussain was involved in the Pakistan Movement.

Gillani has a Bachelors's degree in English Literature and a Master’s degree in journalism.

He kick-started his political career began in 1978 as a member of the Central Working Committee of the United Muslim League and was elected as the Chairman of the District Council, Multan in 1983.

He was elected in the non-partisan and technocratic 1985 general elections as minister for housing and works and later, railways.

Following his differences with then Pakistan Muslim League (PML) prime minister Muhammad Khan Junejo, Gillani joined PPP in 1988 — and has served as a federal minister twice and once as speaker National Assembly.

In 2001, he was put behind bars, where he served five years in prison, as he was convicted for misusing his powers during his term as a speaker of the Lower House.

A National Accountability Bureau (NAB) court had convicted the former prime minister as then-president General Pervez Musharraf eyed accountability and responsibility of resources.

In 2008, he was elected prime minister after defeating Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi with 264 votes in the 342-seat lower house of parliament.

In 2012, seven-judge bench of the court, headed by Justice Nasirul Mulk, disqualified Gillani for five years after he was found guilty on charges of contempt of court on April 26, 2012. He was given a symbolic sentence for 30 seconds by the bench.