Benazir with husband Asif Ali Zardari
Bhutto's father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, founder of the Pakistan Peoples Party, was president and then prime minister of Pakistan from 1971 until a military coup ousted him in 1977. He was hanged in April 1979. Bhutto was 29 when she took the helm of the Peoples Party.
In 1988, Bhutto was the first woman ever elected to lead a Muslim state. She served twice, from 1988 to 1990, and from 1993 to 1996. She was expelled from office both times by the president of Pakistan for alleged corruption. Bhutto left Pakistan voluntarily in 1999. She returned in October 2007 and, during her homecoming parade, a suicide bomber detonated in the crowd. More than 140 people were killed. Bhutto survived, noting at the time, "We will not be deterred," according to media reports. During a rally a few months later, she shouted, "Bhutto is alive!"
In 1988, Bhutto was the first woman ever elected to lead a Muslim state. She served twice, from 1988 to 1990, and from 1993 to 1996. She was expelled from office both times by the president of Pakistan for alleged corruption. Bhutto left Pakistan voluntarily in 1999. She returned in October 2007 and, during her homecoming parade, a suicide bomber detonated in the crowd. More than 140 people were killed. Bhutto survived, noting at the time, "We will not be deterred," according to media reports. During a rally a few months later, she shouted, "Bhutto is alive!"
