Chaudhury, Mohammad Ali
Chaudhury, Mohammad Ali (1909-1963) politician, diplomat and prime minister of Pakistan. Mohammad Ali was born in a landed family of Bogra in 1909. Having obtained his graduation from Calcutta University, he joined public politics as an activist of muslim league and was president of the Bogra district unit of the party from 1937 to 1947 AD.
Mohammad Ali Chaudhury was the chairman of Bogra District Board, chairman of Bogra School Board, and a fellow of Calcutta University. Mohammad Ali was elected a member of the Bengal Legislative Assembly in 1937 as a candidate of the Muslim League, and was the parliamentary secretary (1944-45) in the Bengal provincial cabinet of khwaja nazimuddin. He was again elected a member of the Bengal Legislative Assembly in 1946 as a candidate of the Muslim League, and was the Minister of Finance and Health (1946-47) in the subsequent cabinet headed by huseyn shaheed suhrawardy. He played an important role in the pakistan movement.
Mohammad Ali was the Ambassador of Pakistan to Burma (1948), High Commissioner to Canada (1949-52), and Ambassador to the United States of America (1952-53). He was made Prime Minister in 1953 by Gholam Mohammad, the Governor General of Pakistan. It was during his premiership that the united front cabinet in East Bengal was dissolved (29 May 1954) and 92-A promulgated to introduce Governor's rule in the province. His new cabinet (1954-55) included Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, abu hossain sarkar and General ayub khan as Ministers of Law, Health and Defence respectively. At this time the Pak-American Military Pact was signed (1954), and Pakistan was enrolled as a member of CENTO and SEATO.
Between 1955 and 1959 Mohammad Ali was the Ambassador of Pakistan first to the United States of America and then to Japan. Mohammad Ali was elected member of the Pakistan National Assembly in 1962 from Bogra under the Basic Democracies system of Ayub Khan, and was elected leader of the Muslim League parliamentary party. He was Minister of Foreign Affairs in the cabinet of Ayub Khan, a position which he held till his death on 23 January 1963. [Muazzam Hussain Khan]
