Mr. Zardari was elected President of Pakistan with a large majority in the presidential election of 2008, after the assassination of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto in 2007. After Ms. Bhutto’s death he has remained in the frontlines of shaping a national consensus at the federal level through the politics of reconciliation initiated by Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto.

Recently, Mr. Zardari was asked by the Central Executive Committee (CEC) of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) through unanimous vote to serve as Chairman of the Party after the assassination of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto. Although he was elected unopposed, he nominated his son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari for that role and decided to work as Co-Chairman of the PPP.

Under Mr. Zardari’s leadership of the Party, the Pakistan National Assembly appointed Dr. Fehmida Mirza as the first female speaker in its history. President Zardari has been a strong and continuous supporter of the empowerment of women and minorities in all government policy making. Today, the PPP government has coalition governments in all of Pakistan’s four provinces.

Mr. Zardari’s political career spans two decades spent working closely with Shaheed Benazir Bhutto. During this period he helped formulate policies that expanded the freedom of the media, revolutionized telecommunications and opened Pakistan to foreign direct investment.

Mr. Zardari served as a Member of the National Assembly twice (1990-93 and 1993-96), as Federal Minister for the Environment (1993-1996) and as Federal Minister for Investment (1995-96) and was elected as a Senator in 1997. He was the principal architect of the Benazir Bhutto government’s efforts to transform Pakistan’s energy power sector by encouraging major investment opportunities in power generation.

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