Along the way, he served as Speaker of the National Assembly or lower House of Parliament during 1993-97 and as federal minister during 1985-88. Since joining the PPP, he has been a loyal and steadfast supporter of the Bhutto family.
Gillani is a descendant of Hazrat Musa Pak, a leading spiritual figure of Multan who hailed from Gilan in Iran. His father Alamdar Hussain Gillani was a signatory to the Pakistan Resolution, the 1940 document that laid the ground for the creation of Pakistan.
His grandfather Ghulam Mustafa Shah Gillani and paternal uncle Raza Shah Gillani were both legislators in the 1940s. Gillani's great-grandfather Raja Bakhsh Gillani was Mayor of Multan in 1921 and a member of the Central Legislative Assembly of India.
After completing his schooling at St Mary's Convent School in Multan, Gillani graduated from Lahore's government college and secured a master's degree in journalism from Punjab University.
Gillani, who like his father and grandfather bears the spiritual title of 'Makhdoom', started his political career after the death of his father in 1978. He was soon elected chairman of Multan's district council.
In 1985, Gillani was elected as a member of the National Assembly for the first time from Lodhran district and became minister for housing and works and railways in the government of Mohammed Khan Junejo.
Image: Gillani was one of closest aides of slain Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and along with Makhdoom Amin Fahim (Left).
Photographs: Aamir Qureshi/AFP/Getty Images
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