Sharif

Sharīf Asharif or Alsharif (Arabic: شريف‎ šarīf) or Chérif (Darija: Chorfa) is a traditional Arab title in origin, the word is an adjective meaning "noble", "highborn". The feminine singular is sharifa(h) (Arabic: شريفة‎ šarīfah). The masculine plural is Ashraf (Arabic: اشراف‎ ʾašrāf).

Sunnis in the Arab world reserve the term sharif for descendants of Hasan ibn Ali, while sayyid is used for descendants of Husayn ibn Ali, Hasan's younger brother. Both Hasan and Husayn are grandchildren of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, through the marriage of his cousin Ali and his daughter Fatima. However ever since the post-Hashemite era began in 1925 after the fall of the Sharif of Mecca, the term sayyid has been used to denote descendants from both Hasan and Husayn. Shiites use the terms sayyid and habib to denote descendants from both Hasan and Husayn; see also ashraf.

From 1201 until 1925, when the Hejaz was conquered by Ibn Saud, this family (the descendants of Hasan ibn Ali) held the office of the Sharīf of Mecca, often also carrying the title and office of King of Hejaz. Descendants now rule the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the name being taken from the Banu Hashim, the sub-tribe of Banu Quraish, to which Muhammad belonged.

Prime minister

A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime minister is the presiding member and chairman of the cabinet. In a minority of systems, notably in semi-presidential systems of government, a prime minister is the official who is appointed to manage the civil service and execute the directives of the head of state.

In parliamentary systems fashioned after the Westminster system, the prime minister is the presiding and actual head of government and head of the executive branch. In such systems, the head of state or the head of state's official representative (i.e. the monarch, president, or governor-general) usually holds a largely ceremonial position, although often with reserve powers.

The prime minister is often, but not always, a member of parliament and is expected with other ministers to ensure the passage of bills through the legislature. In some monarchies the monarch may also exercise executive powers (known as the royal prerogative) that are constitutionally vested in the crown and may be exercised without the approval of parliament.

Nawaz Sharif

Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (Urdu: میاں محمد نواز شریف‎, pronounced [nəˈʋaːz ʃəˈriːf]; born 25 December 1949) the 18th and current Prime Minister of Pakistan in office since June 2013. A veteran politician and industrialist, he previously served as Prime Minister from November 1990 to July 1993 and from February 1997 to October 1999. Sharif is the president of Pakistan Muslim League, which is currently Pakistan's largest political party, and has formed the government. As the owner of Ittefaq Group, a leading business conglomerate, he is also one of the country's wealthiest people. He is commonly known as the "Lion of the Punjab".

Nawaz Sharif entered politics in the 1980s when in the general elections of 1985, he won with an overwhelming majority, both in the National and Provincial Assemblies. On 9 April 1985, he was sworn-in as Chief Minister of Punjab. On 31 May 1988, he was appointed caretaker Chief Minister, after the dismissal of Assemblies by General Zia. Nawaz Sharif was again elected as Chief Minister after the 1988 general elections. After Zia's death and Benazir Bhutto's being elected Prime Minister in 1988, Sharif emerged as opposition leader from the conservative Pakistan Muslim League. When Bhutto was dismissed by President Ghulam Ishaq Khan in 1990 on corruption charges, Sharif was elected Prime Minister the same year. But relations between Sharif and Ghulam Ishaq too deteriorated, with Ghulam Ishaq attempting to dismiss Sharif on similar charges. Sharif successfully challenged the President's decision in the Supreme Court, but both men were ultimately persuaded to step down in 1993 by army chief Abdul Waheed Kakar.