Shehbaz Sharif

On 27 February 2018, Sharif was appointed as the interim President of the PML-N. On 13 March, he was elected as the President of the PML-N unopposed.

On 7 June 2018, Sharif was succeeded by Hasan Askari Rizvi as caretaker Chief Minister of Punjab.

He was elected to the National Assembly as a candidate of PML-N from Constituency NA-132 (Lahore-X) in 2018 Pakistani general election. In the same election, he was re-elected to the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab as a candidate of PML-N from Constituency PP-164 (Lahore-XXI) and PP-165 (Lahore-XXII). Following his successful election, he abandoned his Punjab seats in favor of the National assembly seat. On 16 August, he was nominated by PML-N for the office of Prime Minister of Pakistan. On 17 August 2018, he received 96 votes and lost the office to Imran Khan. The same day, he was nominated for the office of Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly by one 111 Members of the National Assembly. On 20 August 2018, he was notified as Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly. In his capacity as Leader of Opposition he also served as Chairman Public Accounts Committee from 22 December 2018 till 28 November 2019. He resigned from the post and Rana Tanveer Hussain succeeded him.

On 29 July 2017, Sharif was named leader of the PML-N, and hence Prime Minister-designate of Pakistan, following the disqualification of outgoing Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif after the Panama Papers case decision. However, Sharif could not be sworn in immediately because he was not a member of the National Assembly. As a result, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi was made interim Prime Minister of Pakistan for 45 days, presumably giving Sharif enough time to enter the legislature via a by-election. After Abbasi's election as Prime Minister of Pakistan, however, it was reported that he was likely to continue as Prime Minister for the next ten months until the 2018 general election due to the reluctance of Shehbaz Sharif to leave the post of Chief Minister of Punjab. Though he was not made the leader of PML-N over differences.

In December 2017, during a party meeting between the senior members of PML-N, Nawaz named Shehbaz as candidate of the party for the office of Prime Minister in the upcoming June 2018 general election, saying that "Shahbaz had never disappointed him or the party, and had risen to prominence because of his hard work and performance."

In 2016, Sharif was elected unopposed as the president of Punjab chapter of PML-N in intra-party elections.

In 2013, it was noted that Sharif is wealthier than his elder brother Nawaz with Rs 336.9 million.

Sharif was re-elected to the Provincial Assembly of Punjab from three Constituencies PP-159 (Lahore-XXIII), PP-161 (Lahore-XXV) and PP-247 (Rajanpur-I) - as a candidate of PML-N in 2013 general election. In the same election, he was re-elected to the National Assembly from Constituency NA-129 (Lahore-XII) as candidate of PML-N. Sharif opted to retain his Provincial Assembly seat PP-159 (Lahore-XXIII) and was re-elected as the Chief Minister of Punjab for the third time unopposed after securing 300 votes in the 371-members Provincial Assembly.

His second term as Chief Minister lasted until 25 February 2009, when the Supreme Court of Pakistan declared him ineligible to hold public office which took away his seat in the Punjab Assembly, and thereby removed him from office as Chief Minister. On 1 April 2009, a five-member larger bench of the Supreme Court overturned an earlier decision of the apex court, in which Sharif was disqualified from holding public office. As a result, Shehbaz returned to office as Chief Minister.

Sharif was not allowed to take part in the 2008 general election due to the charges of murder. In 2008, Sharif was acquitted in the 1998 extrajudicial killings case.

Sharif was re-elected to the Provincial Assembly of Punjab unopposed from Constituency PP-48 (Bhakkar-II) as a candidate of PML-N in by-polls held in June 2008. He was re-elected as the Chief Minister of Punjab unopposed after securing 265 votes.

In June 2008 he contested for the seat of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab from Constituency PP-10 (Rawalpindi-X), while holding the Assembly seat from Constituency PP-48 (Bhakkar-II). He was elected unopposed but later he resigned from this seat after controversy developed over his eligibility to hold office of Chief Ministership.

In August 2007, the Supreme Court of Pakistan gave its verdict which allowed Sharif to return to Pakistan. In September 2007, an anti-terrorism court in Pakistan ordered police to arrest Sharif based on a 2003 arrest warrants. He later got bail from anti-terrorism court. Sharif denied ordering the alleged killings and said the charges against him were politically motivated. He further said "in 2004 he landed at the Lahore Airport and wanted to appear before the court but the government in a deceitful mode sent him back to Saudi Arabia in sheer violation of the orders of the Supreme Court." In 2008, he was acquitted by the Anti-Terrorism Court in the Sabzazar case.

He was re-elected as the President of PML-N for a second term in August 2006 and returned to Pakistan along with Nawaz Sharif in November 2007.

In 2003, Sharif married to his second wife Tehmina Durrani. He lives at his ancestral home in Lahore, Raiwind Palace.

In 2003, an anti-terrorism court summoned Sharif and other five accused in an alleged extrajudicial killings in 1998. He was in the exile at that time and failed to show-up to the court. Later, court issued arrest warrant for Sharif. In 2004, Sharif attempted to return to Pakistan to appear before the court, but was forcibly deported back to Saudi Arabia.

While in exile in Saudi Arabia, Sharif was elected as the President of PML-N in August 2002 and moved to the United Kingdom in mid-2003 for medical treatment.

After a military coup deposed the government in 1999, Sharif spent years of self-exile in Saudi Arabia, returning to Pakistan in 2007. Sharif was appointed Chief Minister for a second term after the PML-N's victory in the province in the 2008 general elections. He was elected as Chief Minister of Punjab for third time in 2013.

He held his office until 12 October 1999 when was removed from the post of Chief Minister in the 1999 Pakistani coup d'état. Following the coup he was imprisoned. In December 2000, he along with his immediate family members was exiled forcibly to Saudi Arabia following the request of the Saudi royal family.

In 1999, a complainant Saeeduddin lodged FIR and accused Sharif of allowing the Sabzazar police, as the Chief Minister of the Punjab, to kill his son along with other men in a fake encounter. In the encounter, his two sons and other three people were killed by the police.

Sharif was elected to the Punjab Provincial Assembly in 1988 and to the National Assembly in 1990. He was again elected to the Punjab Assembly in 1993 and named Leader of the Opposition. Elected a third time in 1997, Sharif was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Punjab on 20 February 1997.

He was re-elected to the Provincial Assembly of Punjab from Constituency PP-125 (Lahore-X) as a candidate of PML-N in 1997 general election. He received 25,013 votes and defeated a candidate of PPP. In the same election, he was re-elected to the National Assembly from Constituency NA-96 (Lahore-V) as a candidate of PML-N. He secured 47,614 votes and defeated Hanif Ramay. He was elected as the Chief Minister of Punjab for the first time and was sworn in as 13th Chief Minister of Punjab on 20 February 1997.

He was re-elected to the Provincial Assembly of Punjab from Constituency PP-125 (Lahore-X) as a candidate of Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML-N) in 1993 general election. He received 28,068 votes and defeated a candidate of PPP. In the same election, he was re-elected to the National Assembly from Constituency NA-96 (Lahore-V) as a candidate of PML-N. He secured 55,867 votes and defeated Yousuf Salahuddin. He vacated the National Assembly seat and retained his Provincial Punjab Assembly seat. Shortly after the election, he was elected Leader of Opposition in the Provincial Assembly of Punjab. During his tenure as leader of the opposition, he remained in the United Kingdom for some years due for medical treatment. In his absence, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi was made acting leader of the opposition in the Punjab Assembly. His term as Member of the Punjab Assembly and the Leader of the Opposition prematurely ended in November 1996 when the assemblies were dissolved.

He was re-elected to the Provincial Assembly of Punjab from Constituency PP-124 (Lahore-IX) as a candidate of IJI in 1990 general election. He received 26,408 votes and defeated a candidate of Pakistan Democratic Alliance (PDA). In the same election, he was elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan from Constituency NA-96 (Lahore-V) as a candidate of IJI. He secured 54,506 votes and defeated Jehangir Bader. He vacated the Provincial Punjab Assembly seat to retain his National Assembly seat. His term prematurely ended in 1993 when the assemblies were dissolved.

Sharif began his political career after getting elected to the Provincial Assembly of Punjab from Constituency PP-122 (Lahore-VII) as a candidate of Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (JI) in 1988 general election. He secured 22,372 votes and defeated a candidate of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). However his term prematurely ended in 1990 when the assemblies were dissolved.

After graduation, he joined his family owned Ittefaq Group and got elected president of Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry in 1985.

Sharif married to his cousin, Nusrat Shehbaz in 1973. They had four children: Salman, Hamza,first daughter Ayesha and twin sisters: Javeria and Rabia.

Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif (pronounced [miˈɑ̃ː mʊˈɦəm.məd̪ ʃɛhˈbɑːz ʃəˈriːf] , born 23 September 1951) is a Pakistani politician who is the current Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly of Pakistan, in office since 20 August 2018. He has been a member of the National Assembly since 13 August 2018 and is the current President of the Pakistan Muslim League-N. Previously, he has served as the Chief Minister of Punjab three times in his political career making him the longest serving Chief Minister of Punjab.

Shehbaz Sharif was born on 23 September 1951 in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. According to the News International, he was born on 23 September 1950. His father, Muhammad Sharif, was an upper-middle-class businessman and industrialist whose family had emigrated from Anantnag in Kashmir for business, and eventually settled in the village of Jati Umra in Amritsar district, Punjab at the beginning of the twentieth century. His mother's family came from Pulwama. After the movement led by Jinnah and his struggle to create Pakistan in 1947, his parents migrated from Amritsar to Lahore.