| Wasim Sajjad | |
| Native Name Lang: | ur |
| Acting President of Pakistan | |
| Term Start: | 2 December 1997 |
| Term End: | 1 January 1998 |
| Primeminister: | Nawaz Sharif |
| Predecessor: | Farooq Leghari |
| Successor: | Rafiq Tarar |
| Term Start2: | 18 July 1993 |
| Term End2: | 14 November 1993 |
| Primeminister2: | Moeenuddin Qureshi Benazir Bhutto |
| Predecessor2: | Ghulam Ishaq Khan |
| Successor2: | Farooq Leghari |
| Title3: | 3rd Chairman of the Senate |
| Term Start3: | 24 December 1988 |
| Term End3: | 12 October 1999 |
| Predecessor3: | Ghulam Ishaq Khan |
| Successor3: | Mohammad Soomro |
| Title4: | Interior Minister of Pakistan |
| Term Start4: | 29 March 1987 |
| Term End4: | 28 July 1987 |
| President4: | Zia-ul-Haq |
| Primeminister4: | Muhammad Junejo |
| Successor4: | Aslam Khattak |
| Predecessor4: | Nadir Pervez |
| Title5: | Law and Justice Minister of Pakistan |
| Term Start5: | 20 September 1986 |
| Term End5: | 4 December 1988 |
| President5: | Zia-ul-Haq |
| Primeminister5: | Muhammad Junejo |
| Successor5: | Sharifuddin Pirzada |
| Predecessor5: | Aitzaz Ahsan |
| Birth Name: | Wasim Sajjad |
| Birth Date: | 1941 3, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Jalandhar, Punjab, British India (now in Punjab, India) |
| Citizenship: | Pakistani |
| Nationality: | Pakistani |
| Party: | Pakistan Muslim League (Q) |
| Otherparty: | Islami Jamhoori Ittehad Pakistan Muslim League (N) |
| Parents: | Sajjad Ahmad Jan (father) |
| Residence: | Islamabad, Pakistan |
| Alma Mater: | Army Burn Hall College Punjab University Oxford University |
| Cabinet: | Zia Cabinet |
| Website: | Senate biography |
Wasim Sajjad Jan (Urdu: {{nobold|وسیم سجاد جان; born 30 March 1941) is a Pakistani conservative politician and lawyer who served as the acting president of Pakistan for two non-consecutive terms and as the Chairman of the Senate between 1988 and 1999.[1]
Born in Jalandhar, British India, Sajjad's father (Justice Sajjad Ahmad Jan) went on to serve as a judge of the Supreme Court, later becoming Chief Election Commissioner of Pakistan. Sajjad studied at the Army Burn Hall before moving to Lahore where he studied law at the Punjab University. As a Rhodes Scholar, he moved to Oxfordshire, where he received his Bachelor of Civil Law followed by a graduate degree in Jurisprudence from the Wadham College, Oxford in 1967. He was called to the Bar at the Inner Temple in 1968.[2] On return to Pakistan, Sajjad was admitted as a lawyer in Pakistan and joined the Punjab Law College where he taught constitutional law between 1967 and 1977.[3]
Sajjad was elected as to the Senate in 1985 as a member of the center-right Muslim League and served as the Minister for Law and Justice from September 1986 to December 1988, until December 1988 when he was elected as Chairman of the Senate where he remained until 1997. During which he served as acting President of Pakistan twice during the general elections.[1] In 1999, Sajjad joined a defecting group that supported General Musharraf's coup and became the Leader of the House in the Senate of Pakistan in 2003, remaining until his political retirement in 2008.[4] After the imposition of the coup by General Pervez Musharraf, Sajjad joined the PML(Q) and again became a senator. This time he served as Leader of the House in the Senate of Pakistan from March 2003 to March 2008. Thereafter he served as Leader of the Opposition from 2010 until 2012.[1] After retiring from politics, he has been serving as Chairman of the Foundation for Advancement of Science and Technology (FAST),[5] and the chancellor of the National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences.[6]
In 2002, Sajjad was accused of mis-use of government vehicles and phones, amounting to millions of rupees. He was ordered to pay a fine, but served no time in jail.[7]