Feroz Khan Noon

Title & tenure

7th Prime Minister of Pakistan (1957–1958)

In office: 1957 – 1958

Predecessor:

Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar

Successor:

none (martial law; office vacant until 1971)

Biography

Sir Feroz Khan Noon was a veteran Punjabi politician and former provincial governor and federal minister who became Pakistan's seventh and, for over a decade, last Prime Minister before Ayub Khan's 1958 coup suspended the office entirely.

Achievements

• Had earlier served as a provincial minister in colonial Punjab and as Pakistan's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom
• Attempted to stabilize a fractious coalition government during his brief tenure

Key events

• Formed government in December 1957 as yet another shifting coalition amid continued political instability
• 7 October 1958: President Iskander Mirza declared martial law, dismissing Noon's government and abrogating the Constitution
• Mirza himself was overthrown by General Ayub Khan only weeks later

Legacy

Feroz Khan Noon's removal marked the end of Pakistan's fragile first decade of parliamentary government; the office of Prime Minister itself would not be restored until 1971/1973, over a decade later.

How it ended

Dismissed when martial law was declared in October 1958; died in 1970.