Khawaja Nazimuddin was born on July 19, 1894, at Dhaka. He was educated at M. A. O. College, Aligarh, and Trinity Hall, Cambridge. He remained as Chairman of Dhaka Municipality from 1922 to 1929. After becoming the Provincial Education Minister in 1929, he piloted the Bengal Rural Primary Education Bill in 1930, which was strongly opposed by the Hindu members. He continued as Education Minister till 1934 and then became an Executive Councilor. In that capacity two important Bills were passed to improve the lot of Bengal peasantry that showed his steady levelheaded outlook.
In 1937, he was appointed as the Home Minister. He remained an active member of Coalition Cabinet of the Chief Minister, Fazl-ul-Haq, during 1937-1941. After Fazl-ul-Haq’s resignation, Khawaja Nazimuddin, who had been the Leader of Opposition from 1941 to 1943, became Chief Minister on April 24, 1943. In August 1947, he was elected as the leader of the Muslim League Party of East Bengal.
When Muhammad Ali Jinnah passed away on September 11, 1948, Khawaja Nazimuddin was designated as the Governor General of Pakistan. After the assassination of Liaquat Ali, Khawaja Nazimuddin was asked to step in as the Prime Minister as there was no other person found suitable for the post, while Malik Ghulam Muhammad was elevated to the post of Governor General.
Khawaja Nazimuddin died in 1964.
This article was last updated on Sunday, June 01, 2003
