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Benazir Bhutto.

بینَظِیر بُھٹّو

Benazir Bhutto — Politician
Born Karachi, Pakistan
Died Rawalpindi, Pakistan
Citizenship Pakistan
Would Be 73 yr If Living

13 min read

Reading time

2,427

Words

Published

5

Film credits

2

Awards

TL;DR

Benazir Bhutto was sworn in as Prime Minister of Pakistan on December 2, 1988, becoming the first woman to head a democratic government in a Muslim-majority country. She served a second term from October 19, 1993 to November 5, 1996. After years of self-exile in Dubai, she returned to Pakistan in October 2007 and was assassinated by gunshot and a suicide bomb attack in Rawalpindi on December 27, 2007.

Identity & family.

KIN · 9

Names, aliases, and relatives of Benazir Bhutto — birth name, kin, and personal ties.

Native Name بینَظِیر بُھٹّو
Parents
Nusrat Bhutto Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Spouses
Asif Ali Zardari
Children
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari Aseefa Bhutto Zardari
Siblings
Sanam Bhutto. Shahnawaz Bhutto Murtaza Bhutto

At a glance.

STATS

Benazir Bhutto by the numbers — life, work, and family.

54 Years lived
5 Film credits
2 Awards
1 Marriage
3 Children

Who was Benazir Bhutto?

BIOGRAPHY

Benazir Bhutto — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.

Early life

In Karachi, Sindh, on June 21, 1953, Benazir Bhutto was born into Pakistan’s most prominent political family. Her father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, served as Prime Minister, and her mother, Nusrat Bhutto, was a political figure. She attended elite schools including the Convent of Jesus and Mary in Karachi and Murree, Karachi Grammar School, and later Harvard University’s Radcliffe College and Oxford University. After her father’s execution in 1979, Benazir became the de facto leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party PPP, inheriting a legacy of opposition to military rule.

Career

Benazir Bhutto’s political career gained momentum after she co-chaired the Pakistan Peoples Party PPP in the early 1980s. Her first term as Prime Minister began on December 2, 1988, ending on August 6, 1990, when President Ghulam Ishaq Khan dismissed her government on corruption charges. She returned to power on October 19, 1993, serving until November 5, 1996. Her tenure focused on economic liberalization and women’s rights, but corruption allegations dogged her administration. After her husband Asif Ali Zardari’s imprisonment in 1996, she moved to Dubai, returning to Pakistan on October 18, 2007, only to be assassinated two months later.

Personal life

Benazir Bhutto married Asif Ali Zardari on December 18, 1987, in an arranged marriage. They had three children: Bilawal born 1988, Bakhtawar born 1990, and Aseefa born 1994. Her husband faced numerous corruption charges and spent eight years in prison from 1996 to 2004, while she lived in self-exile with their children. Her siblings Shahnawaz and Murtaza both died under suspicious circumstances. Benazir’s mother, Nusrat Bhutto, initially opposed her entry into politics.

Legacy

Benazir Bhutto’s legacy as the first female prime minister of a Muslim-majority nation remains historic. She inspired women across the Muslim world to enter politics. After her assassination, her husband Asif Ali Zardari led the PPP to victory in the 2008 general elections. She received posthumous honors including the Irish Tipperary Peace Award on April 26, 2008, and the International Chicago Labour Confederation Award on May 2, 2008. The National Badminton Championship of Pakistan was renamed in her honor, and a street and garden in Rawalpindi where she was killed were named after her.

Filmography.

FILMS · 5

The complete filmography of Benazir Bhutto — every film, TV show, and documentary credit, ranked by popularity.

  1. TV Poster for Question Time

    Question Time

  2. TV Poster for HARDtalk

    HARDtalk

  3. Movie Poster for Bhutto: Daughter of Power

    Bhutto: Daughter of Power

  4. Movie Poster for The War Briefing

    The War Briefing

  5. Movie Poster for Insha'Allah Democracy

    Insha'Allah Democracy

Awards & honors.

AWARDS · 2

Every award, honor, and recognition received by Benazir Bhutto — Grammys, hall-of-fame inductions, civic honors, lifetime achievements.

  • Bruno Kreisky Award for Services to Human Rights
  • United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights

Notable quotes.

QUOTES · 16

A wall of memorable lines from Benazir Bhutto — lyrics, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks captured over a lifetime.

Did you know?

FACTS · 50

Little-known facts about Benazir Bhutto — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.

You wanted to know.

FAQ · 30

Quick answers to the questions readers ask most about Benazir Bhutto.

Audited & updated by

Olivia Brooks

Senior Staff Writer & Biography Editor

Olivia has 6 years of experience writing biographical profiles and still approaches every subject like it's the first one. She covers everyone from debut musicians to Hall of Fame athletes to novelists most people have never heard of. She finds something worth reading in all of them. Her drafts tend to come in already clean, which her editor appreciates. She says good writing is just good thinking written down. Hard to argue with that.

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