View source for Wasim Sajjad

{{Short description|Acting President of Pakistan in 1993 and 1997–98}}
{{For|the Pakistani international Kabaddi player|Waseem Sajjad}}
{{pp-pc}}
{{BLP sources|date=March 2018}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2014}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Wasim Sajjad
| image               = Wasim Sajjad.png
| native_name         = {{nobold|وسیم سجاد}}
| native_name_lang    = ur
| honorific-suffix    = 
| image_size          = 
| smallimage          = 
| alt                 = 
| caption             = Sajjad in 2021
| title               = Acting [[President of Pakistan]]
| term_start          = 2 December 1997
| term_end            = 1 January 1998
| primeminister       = [[Nawaz Sharif]]
| predecessor         = [[Farooq Leghari]]
| successor           = [[Rafiq Tarar]]
| majority            = 
| title2              = 
| term_start2         = 18 July 1993
| term_end2           = 14 November 1993
| primeminister2      = [[Moeenuddin Ahmad Qureshi|Moeenuddin Qureshi]] {{small|(Caretaker)}}<br> [[Benazir Bhutto]]
| predecessor2        = [[Ghulam Ishaq Khan]]
| successor2          = [[Farooq Leghari]]
| title3              = 3rd [[Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan|Chairman of the Senate]]
| term_start3         = 24 December 1988
| term_end3           = 12 October 1999
| predecessor3        = [[Ghulam Ishaq Khan]]
| successor3          = [[Mohammad Mian Soomro|Mohammad Soomro]]
| title4              = [[Ministry of Interior (Pakistan)|Interior Minister of Pakistan]]
| term_start4         = 29 March 1987
| term_end4           = 28 July 1987
| president4          = [[Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq|Zia-ul-Haq]]
| primeminister4      = [[Muhammad Khan Junejo|Muhammad Junejo]]
| successor4          = [[Muhammad Aslam Khan Khattak|Aslam Khattak]]
| predecessor4        = [[Raja Nadir Pervez|Nadir Pervez]]
| title5              = [[Law Minister of Pakistan|Law and Justice Minister of Pakistan]]
| term_start5         = 20 September 1986
| term_end5           = 4 December 1988
| president5          = [[Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq|Zia-ul-Haq]]
| primeminister5      = [[Muhammad Khan Junejo|Muhammad Junejo]]
| successor5          = [[Sharifuddin Pirzada]]
| predecessor5        = [[Aitzaz Ahsan]]
| birth_name          = Wasim Sajjad
| birth_date          = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1941|03|30}}
| birth_place         = [[Jalandhar]], [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab]], [[British Raj|British India]]<br/>(now in [[Punjab, India|Punjab]], [[India]])
| death_date          = <!-- {{Death date and age|df=yes|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} -->
| death_place         = 
| resting_place       = 
| resting_place_coordinates = 
| citizenship         = Pakistani
| nationality         = Pakistani
| party               = [[Pakistan Muslim League (Q)]]<br>{{small|(2002–present)}}
| otherparty          = [[Islami Jamhoori Ittehad]]<br>[[Pakistan Muslim League (N)]]
| spouse              = 
| partner             = <!--For those with a domestic partner and not married-->
| relations           = 
| children            = 
| parents             = Sajjad Ahmad Jan (father)
| residence           = Islamabad, Pakistan
| education           = 
| alma_mater          = [[Army Burn Hall College]]<br />[[University of the Punjab|Punjab University]]<br>[[Oxford University]]
| occupation          = 
| profession          = 
| known_for           = 
| cabinet             = [[Zia regime|Zia Cabinet]]
| committees          = 
| portfolio           = 
| signature           = 
| signature_alt       = 
| website             = [http://www.senate.gov.pk/en/profile.php?uid=107 Senate biography]
| footnotes           = 
}}

'''Wasim Sajjad Jan''' ({{langx|ur|{{nobold|وسیم سجاد جان}}}}; born 30 March 1941) is a Pakistani [[Conservatism in Pakistan|conservative]] politician and [[lawyer]] who served as the acting [[president of Pakistan]] for two non-consecutive terms and as the [[Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan|Chairman]] of the [[Senate of Pakistan|Senate]] between 1988 and 1999.<ref name="Senate Secretariat Press">{{cite web|last1=Govt. Pakistan|title=Wasim Sajjad: A Senator's work|url=http://www.senate.gov.pk/en/profile.php?uid=107|website=www.senate.gov.pk/|publisher=Senate Secretariat Press|access-date=2 February 2015}}</ref>

Born in [[Jalandhar]], [[British Indian|British India]], Sajjad's father (Justice Sajjad Ahmad Jan) went on to serve as a judge of the [[Supreme Court of Pakistan|Supreme Court]], later becoming [[Chief Election Commissioner of Pakistan]]. Sajjad studied at the [[Army Burn Hall College|Army Burn Hall]] before moving to [[Lahore]] where he studied law at the [[University of the Punjab|Punjab University]]. As a [[Rhodes Scholarship|Rhodes Scholar]], he moved to [[Oxfordshire]], where he received his [[Bachelor of Civil Law]] followed by a graduate degree in [[Jurisprudence]] from the [[Wadham College, Oxford|Wadham College]], [[University of Oxford|Oxford]] in 1967. He was [[called to the Bar]] at the [[Inner Temple]] in 1968.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://prideofpakistan.com/detail-who-is-who.php?name=WasimSajjad&id=156|title=Who is Who {{!}} Wasim Sajjad {{!}} Pride of Pakistan {{!}} Legal Services|website=prideofpakistan.com|access-date=2016-12-04}}</ref> On return to Pakistan, Sajjad was admitted as a lawyer in Pakistan and joined the [[University of the Punjab#Constituent colleges|Punjab Law College]] where he taught [[constitutional law]] between 1967 and 1977.<ref name="Scholar of the Week">{{cite web|url=http://www.rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk/scholar-of-the-week?page=15|title=Pakistan's Rhodes Scholars|website=www.rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk/|publisher=Scholar of the Week|last1=Scholar of the Week|access-date=2 February 2015|archive-date=2 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150202123439/http://www.rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk/scholar-of-the-week?page=15|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Political career ==
Sajjad was elected to the [[Senate of Pakistan|Senate]] in 1985 as a member of the center-right [[Pakistan Muslim League (N)|Muslim League]] and served as the [[Minister for Law and Justice (Pakistan)|Minister for Law and Justice]] from September 1986 to December 1988, when he was elected as [[Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan|Chairman of the Senate]] where he remained until 1997. During which he served as acting President of Pakistan twice during the general elections.<ref name="Senate Secretariat Press"/> In 1999, Sajjad joined a [[Pakistan Muslim League (Q)|defecting group]] that supported [[Pervez Musharraf|General Musharraf]]'s coup and became the Leader of the House in the [[Senate of Pakistan]] in 2003, remaining until his political retirement in 2008.<ref name="Ashraf Mumtaz">{{cite news|title=Wasim Sajjad declined to become CJP|url=http://archives.dawn.com/2006/09/18/nat4.htm|access-date=2 August 2013|newspaper=Dawn|date=18 September 2006|author=Ashraf Mumtaz}}</ref> After the imposition of the coup by General [[Pervez Musharraf]], Sajjad joined the PML(Q) and again became a senator. This time he served as Leader of the House in the Senate of Pakistan from March 2003 to March 2008. Thereafter he served as Leader of the Opposition from 2010 until 2012.<ref name="Senate Secretariat Press"/> After retiring from politics, he has been serving as Chairman of the [[Foundation of Advancement of Science and Technology|Foundation for Advancement of Science and Technology]] (FAST),<ref name="FAST">{{cite web|title=FAST Foundation|url=https://nu.edu.pk/University/Foundation|website=www.nu.edu.pk|publisher=FAST-NU|access-date=24 November 2022}}</ref> and the [[University chancellor|chancellor]] of the [[National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences]].<ref name="FAST-NU">{{cite web|last1=FAST-NU|title=Chancellor of FAST-NU|url=https://nu.edu.pk/University/Chancellor|website=www.nu.edu.pk|publisher=FAST-NU|access-date=24 November 2022}}</ref>

In 2002, Sajjad was accused of misuse of government vehicles and phones, amounting to millions of rupees. He was ordered to pay a fine, but served no time in jail.<ref name="satribune">{{Cite web|url=http://www.satribune.antisystemic.org/www.satribune.com/archives/nov18_24_02/P1_waseem.htm|title=Wasim Sajjad off the Hook, while others rot in jail|access-date=20 September 2007|publisher=South Asia Tribune|year=2002|author=Maryam Hussain}}{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

== Pakistan Football Federation ==
Sajjad served as interim president of the [[Pakistan Football Federation]] in 1989.<ref>{{cite web |title=Pakistan Football Federation |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150404135433if_/http://www.pff.com.pk/history.php}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Faisal-led PFF to file intra-court appeal |url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/127980-Faisal-led-PFF-to-file-intra-court-appeal |access-date=2024-09-21 |website=www.thenews.com.pk |language=en}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Pakistan}}
* [[List of Pakistanis]]
* [[Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan]]
* [[Acting President of Pakistan]]
* [[National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences]]
* [[Ministry of Interior (Pakistan)|Ministry of Interior]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{Cite web|title=Former actiing Pak president Wasim Sajjad to visit Jalandhar in search of ancestral house|url=https://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/former-actiing-pak-president-wasim-sajjad-to-visit-jalandhar-29678.html|date=October 27, 2013|website=[[India TV]]}}

{{Acting Presidents of Pakistan}}
{{Chairman Senate Pakistan}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sajjad, Wasim}}
[[Category:1941 births]]
[[Category:Alumni of the Inns of Court School of Law]]
[[Category:Chairmen of the Senate of Pakistan]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Members of the Inner Temple]]
[[Category:Pakistani lawyers]]
[[Category:Pakistani Rhodes Scholars]]
[[Category:People from Jalandhar]]
[[Category:Acting presidents of Pakistan]]
[[Category:Members of the Senate of Pakistan]]
[[Category:Federal ministers of Pakistan]]
[[Category:Army Burn Hall College alumni]]
[[Category:People from Lahore]]
[[Category:Presidents of the Pakistan Football Federation]]