Moeenuddin Ahmad Qureshi (; 26 June 1930 – 22 November 2016) was a Pakistani American economist and civil servant who served as caretaker prime minister of Pakistan from July to October 1993. He also served as the senior vice president of World Bank.
Early life and education
Moeenuddin Ahmad Qureshi was born in Lahore, Punjab, British India, on 26 June 1930. He hailed from a distinguished family that was originally from Kasur. His father, Mohyeddin Ahmad Qureshi, was a civil servant in the British government and his mother, Khursheed Jabin, was a housewife. He attended the Islamia College in Lahore and made a transfer to the Government College University in Lahore where he gained B.A. (Honors) in Economics and received an M.A. in Economics from the Punjab University.
He received the Fulbright scholarship and went to the United States to attend the Indiana University Bloomington in Indiana, where he earned a PhD in Economics in 1955.
Career
Public service, IMF, and World Bank
In 1955, he returned to Pakistan and joined the country's civil service and was initially posted at the Planning Commission. In 1956, he resigned from the Planning Commission and went to the United States to join the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Caretaker Prime Minister of Pakistan
In 1993, Pakistan averted a major constitutional crisis when both Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and President Ghulam Ishaq Khan resigned from their respective offices after an agreement brokered by the Pakistani military. The resolution was unique because an elected government had voluntarily stepped down in order to avoid possible military intervention and the resignations came through a constitutional process. He also inaugurated the National Library and highlighted its importance in the political culture of the country. Qureshi passed the decree that made the State bank of Pakistan an autonomous body with a view to keep the bank's business operations free from political interference. He downsized the administrative machinery, and abolished the discretionary powers of the Prime Minister and the Chief Ministers which allowed them to a lot residential flats and plots to their "favorites".
The state television, PTV, and Radio Pakistan were made independent and were given the opportunity to air elections freely and impartially.
In 2014, Qureshi was diagnosed with the Parkinson's disease and reportedly underwent treatment for the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in a local hospital.
On November 23, 2016, his family announced that Qureshi had died in Washington, D.C., following a long illness that he was undergoing treatment for in a local hospital. He had had a lung infection and buried in Washington D.C.
Legacy
EMP Global and private sector
After congratulating and witnessing Benazir Bhutto's oath administered by the Acting President Wasim Sajjad alongside the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Qureshi returned to New York, United States, in 1993 to establish the private hedge fund equity, the EMP Global. Qureshi was involved in forging an affiliation with the international insurance company, American International Group (AIG), for a number of years. AIG held a minority stake in EMP and served as a sponsor of, as well as a major investor in, a number of funds bearing its name for which EMP served as Principal Adviser. EMP bought out AIG's stake and became an independent company in 2005.
After his departure from Pakistan, Qureshi received criticism that, in his last days at the office, he made a large number of promotions and other administrative decisions in favor of his relatives.
Personal life
Qureshi was married to an American citizen, Lilo Elizabeth Richter, and has four children: two sons and two daughters. He enjoyed playing tennis and was reportedly a collector of classic cars and antiques. It was purchased by President Donald Trump's counselor Kellyanne Conway for $7.785 million.