Nurul Amin

Title & tenure

8th Prime Minister of Pakistan (1971, 13 days)

In office: 7 December 1971 – 20 December 1971

Predecessor:

none (office vacant since 1958)

Successor:

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto

Biography

Nurul Amin was a veteran East Pakistani politician, one of the few Awami League opponents to retain a seat in the catastrophic 1970 election for his party, who was briefly appointed Prime Minister by President Yahya Khan in a last desperate move during the final days of the 1971 war.

Achievements

• Had earlier served as Chief Minister of East Bengal in the 1950s

Key events

• Appointed Prime Minister on 7 December 1971, in the midst of the Indo-Pakistani War and the collapse of Pakistani military resistance in East Pakistan
• East Pakistan fell and became independent Bangladesh days later, on 16 December 1971
• Resigned along with Yahya Khan's entire government on 20 December 1971 as Zulfikar Ali Bhutto took power

Legacy

Nurul Amin's 13-day premiership, the shortest in Pakistan's history, is remembered as a last, failed gesture of political legitimacy during the dismemberment of the country into Pakistan and Bangladesh.

How it ended

Resigned on 20 December 1971 as Yahya Khan's government fell; later served briefly as Vice President under Bhutto before retiring from politics; died in 1974.