Iskander Mirza

Iskander Ali Mirza (13 November 1899 – 13 November 1969) was a Pakistani politician and military general who served as the fourth and last governor-general of Pakistan from 1955 to 1956, and then as the first president of Pakistan from the promulgation of the first constitution in 1956 until his overthrow in a coup d'état in 1958, following his declaration of martial law and unilateral abrogation of the constitution.

Mirza was educated at the University of Bombay before attending the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. After military service in the British Indian Army, he joined the Indian Political Service and spent the most of his career as a political agent in the Western region of British India until elevated as Joint Secretary to the Government of India at the Ministry of Defence in New Delhi in 1946. Following the independence of Pakistan in 1947 as a result of the Partition of British India, Mirza was appointed the first Defence Secretary by prime minister Liaquat Ali Khan, only to oversee the military efforts in the first war with India in 1947, followed by the failed secession in Balochistan in 1948. In 1954, he was appointed the Governor of his home province of East Bengal by Prime Minister Mohammad Ali Bogra to control the law and order situation sparked by the popular language movement in 1952, but was later elevated as Interior Minister in the Bogra administration in 1955.

Playing a crucial role in the ousting of Governor-General Malik Ghulam Muhammad, Mirza assumed his position in 1955 and was elected as the first President of Pakistan when the first Constitution was promulgated in 1956. His presidency, however, was marked with political instability which saw his unconstitutional interferences in the civilian administration that led to the dismissal of four prime ministers in a mere two years. Facing challenges in getting the political endorsements and reelection for the presidency, Mirza surprisingly suspended the writ of the Constitution by imposing martial law against his own party's administration governed by Prime Minister Feroz Khan Noon on 8 October 1958, enforcing it through his army commander General Ayub Khan. Three weeks later, General Ayub ousted President Mirza when the situation between them escalated and sent him into exile. Mirza lived in the United Kingdom for the remainder of his life and was buried in Iran in 1969.

His legacy and image are viewed negatively by some Pakistani historians who believe that Mirza was responsible for weakening democracy and causing political instability in the country.