Benazir Bhutto

Benazir Bhutto was a Pakistani politician who became the first woman to lead a post-colonial Muslim state. Daughter of former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Benazir led the PPP and served as prime minister twice. A long time opponent of Pervez Musharraf and the PML-Q, she was seen by many as the hope for a progressive resurgence in Pakistan. Bhutto was killed during a suicide bomb attack on December 27, 2007.

Fast Facts

1. Born: June 21, 1953 in Karachi, Pakistan
2. Bhutto was elected Prime Minister of Pakistan in 1988 but was deposed 20 months later after allegations of corruption and kleptocracy
3. PPE at Oxford University and also has a degree from Harvard University
4. 1993: Re-elected but dismissed three years later amid more corruption scandals
5. Three children: Bilawal, Bakhtwar, and Aseefa
6. Died: December 27, 2007

Exile

Both of Bhutto's terms as prime minister were cut short by allegations of corruption. Though never convicted on any of the charges, she was removed from office by the president on both occasions. In 1998 she went into a self-imposed exile, living primarily in Dubai. She returned to Pakistan on October 18, 2007, after President Pervez Musharraf granted her amnesty on all previous charges.

Assasination

On December 27, 2007, Benazir Bhutto was killed when a bomb exploded near her vehicle during a political rally. While many people at the scene claimed that she was hit by gunfire or shrapnel, an autopsy ruled this out as the cause of death. Instead, the medical examination concluded that Bhutto was killed when the force of the nearby explosion caused her head to strike the sunroof of the vehicle she was riding in. An investigation by Scotland Yard concluded that, while shrapnel and gunshots were present, they could not have been the cause of death.

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