PROFILE: PAKISTANI PRIME MINISTER GILLANI

UNCLAS ISLAMABAD 001525 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PINR PK PREL SUBJECT: PROFILE: PAKISTANI PRIME MINISTER GILLANI REF: A. ISLAMABAD 1271 ¶B. ISLAMABAD 970 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Vice Chairman Yousef Gillani was elected as Pakistan's new Prime Minister on March 24 by the National Assembly (Ref A),receiving a unanimous vote of confidence from the Assembly four days later. Gillani is a seasoned politician who descends from a politically and spiritually influential family in southern Punjab's Multan district; he won a National Assembly seat from Multan in the 2008 parliamentary elections. End Summary. Career History -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Gillani entered politics as a Member of the Central Working Committee of the United Muslim League (1978) and was elected in 1983 as Chairman of the District Council, Multan. Gillani was elected to the National Assembly as an independent in the non-party elections of 1985 and was appointed Minister for Housing and Works, Railways, Urban Affairs, and Environment. ¶3. (SBU) Gillani joined the PPP in 1988 and was reelected to the National Assembly, becoming Minister of Tourism and Housing and Works. He was reelected in 1990 and again in 1993, when he became Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan (1993-1996) under Benazir Bhutto. Gillani lost his seat in the 1997 election, but has been Vice Chairman of the PPP since 1998. ¶4. (SBU) On charges widely considered to be politically motivated, Musharraf had Gillani arrested in 2001 under corruption charges. He was charged with misuse of authority and convicted for causing Pakistan a loss of 10.6 million rupees. Gillani was sentenced by an accountability court to five years imprisonment and a fine of 1 million rupees. While in jail, Gillani authored a book about his political history and imprisonment, titled "Chah-e-Yousaf Say Sada," which loosely translates to "from the well where Prophet Joseph was dumped by his brothers." In October 2006 the Lahore High Court approved the appeal of his sentence and ordered his release. Personal History -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Gillani descends from a politically and spiritually influential Sufi family in Southern Punjab's Multan district. He was born in Karachi on June 9, 1952 and obtained a B.A. in English Literature from Government College, and a Master's degree in journalism from Lahore's Punjab University. Gillani married in 1979 and has five children, including triplet sons. Gillani likes to read poetry and admires the revolutionary poet, Faiz Ahmed Faiz. ¶6. (SBU) This is an updated unclassified biography. See Ref B for a classified biography. PATTERSON