Governor of Punjab, Pakistan
The Governor of Punjab is the appointed head of state of the provincial government in Punjab, Pakistan. The governor is designated by the Prime Minister and is normally regarded a ceremonial post. However, throughout the history of Pakistan, the powers of the provincial governors were vastly increased, when the provincial assemblies were dissolved and the administrative role came under direct control of the governors, as in the cases of martial laws of 1958-1972 and 1977-1985, and governor rules of 1999-2002. In the case of Punjab, there was direct governor rule in 1949-1951, when the provincial chief minister of that time was removed and assemblies dissolved.
The current Governor is Salmaan Taseer, a business tycoon who is the Chairman and CEO of the First Capital and Worldcall Group.
List of governors of Punjab
Following is the list of Punjab governors after independence of Pakistan from British Raj.
| Name of Governor | Entered Office | Left Office |
|---|---|---|
| Sir Francis Mudie | 15 August, 1947 | 2 August, 1949 |
| Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar | 2 August, 1949 | 24 Nov 1951 |
| Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar | 24 November, 1951 | 2 May, 1953 |
| Mian Aminuddin | 2 May, 1953 | 24 June, 1954 |
| Habib Ibrahim Rahimtoola | 26 September, 1954 | 26 November, 1954 |
| Mushtaq Ahmed Gurmani | 27 November, 1954 | 14 October, 1955 |
| Part of West Pakistan province | 14 October, 1955 | 1 July, 1970 |
| Lt Gen Attiqur Rahman | 1 July, 1970 | December 1971 |
| Ghulam Mustafa Khar (1st time) | December 1971 | February, 1973 |
| Hanif Ramay | February, 1973 | March, 1974 |
| Sadiq Hussain Qureshi | March 1974 | 13 March, 1975 |
| Ghulam Mustafa Khar (2nd time) | 13 March, 1975 | 31 July, 1975 |
| Mohammad Abbas Abbasi | 31 July, 1975 | September 1977 |
| Aslam Riaz Hussain | September 1977 | September 1978 |
| Lt Gen Sawar Khan | September 1978 | March 1980 |
| Lt Gen (r) Ghulam Jilani Khan | March 1980 | December 1985 |
| Makhdoom Sajjad Hussain Qureshi | December 1985 | December 1988 |
| General (r) Tikka Khan | December 1988 | August 1990 |
| Mian Mohammad Azhar | August 1990 | 1992 |
| Chaudhry Altaf Hussain | 1992 | 21 May, 1995 |
| Lt Gen (r) Raja Saroop Khan | 19 June, 1995 | 5 November, 1996 |
| Khawaja Tariq Rahim | 5 November, 1996 | 10 March, 1997 |
| Shahid Hamid | 10 March, 1997 | 17 August, 1999 |
| Zulfiqar Ali Khosa | 17 August, 1999 | 21 October, 1999 |
| Lt Gen (r) Muhammad Safdar | 21 October, 1999 | 29 October, 2001 |
| Lt Gen (r) Khalid Maqbool | 29 October, 2001 | 16 May, 2008 |
| Salmaan Taseer | 17 May, 2008 | January 4, 2011 |