Sartaj Aziz (1929- ) was as a civil servant in Pakistan, mostly in the Planning Commission where he was joint secretary (1967-71), before starting his UN career in 1971 as FAO’s director of commodities and trade. In 1977 he became assistant president of IFAD, the agency that he helped create as deputy secretary-general of the 1974 World Food Conference. In 1984 he began a political career, including minister of state for food and agriculture (1984-88), finance (1990-93 and 1997-98), and foreign affairs (1998-99). He was also secretary general of the Pakistan Muslim League (1993-99). A native of Pakistan, he was educated in Hailey College of Commerce, Lahore and Harvard Universities. He is vice-chancellor of Beaconhouse University in Lahore, and his publications include Rural Development-Learning from China; Hunger, Politics and Markets; and Agricultural Policies for the 1990s.

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