Suhrawardy, Hussain Shahid

Born 1893 in Midnapore, Bengal; died Dec. 5,1963, in Beirut, Lebanon. Pakistani political and state figure.

Suhrawardy studied law in Great Britain. After participating in the Khalifat (Khilafat) movement, he served for many years as provincial secretary of the Muslim League in Bengal. He served in the government of Bengal, first as a minister (1937–46) and then as prime minister (1946–47). In March 1950 he became head of the Awami Muslim League (later the Awami League). He served as minister of justice of Pakistan from December 1954 to August 1955 and as the country’s prime minister from September 1956 to October 1957. After the coup d’etat of 1958, Suhrawardy was barred from political activity. In 1962–63 he was active in the formation of groups opposing the government. He had close ties to Bengali bourgeois and landowning circles.