Islamic Republic of Pakistan · Roll of Office
Heads of State,
1947–2026
From the last Governors-General of the Dominion to the fourteen Presidents of the Republic — seventy-nine years of the office in one continuous record.
Governors-General
Before the 1956 constitution made Pakistan a republic, the head of state was the British monarch, represented locally by a Governor-General.
Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Pakistan's founder and first Governor-General; died in office barely thirteen months after independence.
Khawaja Nazimuddin
A senior Bengali Muslim League leader who later went on to serve as Prime Minister.
Ghulam Muhammad
A civil servant remembered for dismissing the first Constituent Assembly in 1954, an early setback for Pakistani democracy.
Iskander Mirza
The last Governor-General, who became the Republic's first President when the 1956 constitution took effect.
Presidents of the Republic
Fourteen individuals have held the presidency since 1956, including two who served twice under the same seat and two who briefly held it in an acting capacity.
Iskander Mirza
Pakistan's first President; imposed the country's first martial law in October 1958 and was ousted by his own army chief weeks later.
Ayub Khan
An army general who ruled for over a decade, oversaw a period of rapid economic growth, and resigned amid mass unrest in 1969.
Yahya Khan
Took power in a military coup; his tenure ended with the 1971 war and the loss of East Pakistan as Bangladesh gained independence.
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Founder of the Pakistan Peoples Party; served as President before the 1973 constitution shifted power to the Prime Minister's office — a role he then took himself.
Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry
A largely ceremonial President under the new parliamentary system, serving through the Bhutto government and Zia's 1977 coup.
Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq
Military ruler who imposed Islamization policies and executed Bhutto; died in a plane crash in office, Pakistan's longest-serving President.
Ghulam Ishaq Khan
A career bureaucrat who dismissed two governments — Benazir Bhutto's and Nawaz Sharif's — using controversial constitutional powers.
Wasim Sajjad
Chairman of the Senate, standing in as caretaker head of state between elected presidents.
Farooq Leghari
A PPP leader elected with Benazir Bhutto's backing, who later dismissed her own government in 1996.
Wasim Sajjad
Stood in for a second time as caretaker head of state.
Muhammad Rafiq Tarar
A former Supreme Court judge whose presidency was cut short when General Musharraf's coup removed him from office.
Pervez Musharraf
Army chief who took power in a 1999 coup and later formalized himself as President; resigned in 2008 to avoid impeachment.
Muhammad Mian Soomro
Chairman of the Senate, holding the office through the transition following Musharraf's resignation.
Asif Ali Zardari
Widower of Benazir Bhutto and PPP co-chairman; became the first President in Pakistan's history to complete a full civilian term.
Mamnoon Hussain
A businessman and PML(N)-backed candidate known for a low-key, largely ceremonial presidency.
Arif Alvi
A dentist by profession and PTI co-founder, closely aligned with Imran Khan through a turbulent period in Pakistani politics.
Asif Ali Zardari
Elected again in 2024, making him the current and only two-time President of Pakistan.
Roll of Governors-General & Presidents of Pakistan · 1947–2026
Dates reflect assumption and departure from office.