Hussain hails from an Urdu-speaking family with roots in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India, being born there before the partition but grew up in Karachi. He and his family migrated to Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan in 1949 after the partition in 1947. After being home schooled, Hussain enrolled in the Karachi University where he studied for the Commerce degree. After graduating from the Karachi University in 1963, he entered in the master's program at the Institute of Business Administration in Karachi, and obtained his MBA degree in 1965. Initially supporting and strengthening his father's business, he shifted to his own business in textile. Hussain was once president of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Political career
Hussain began to take interest in national politics in 1968 when he became chairman and joined the PakistanMuslim League led by Nurul Amin. Initially, an activist with a missionary and reformative zeal in 1968, Hussain began joint secretary of the Pakistan Muslim League's Karachi chapter. In 1993, he officially joined the PML led by Nawaz Sharif and was appointed the Finance Secretary of the PML in Sindh. In June 1999, he became the Governor of Sindh, but his term was cut short on 12 October 1999 when the PML government was ousted in a military coup. His credentials as a politician devoted to the cause of democracy were established when he became a political prisoner after raising his voice against the military regime of Pervez Musharraf. Azhar Haroon, the former president of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said: "He had no political affiliation until 1999 but his polite discourse and professional ability impressed Nawaz Sharif, who appointed him as the Governor of Sindh". He is a relatively lesser-known figure, described as loyal to Nawaz Sharif, and was elected as President of Pakistan as the official nominee of the PML-N in the July 2013 presidential election. Hussain secured 432 votes and his only rival Wajihuddin Ahmed received 77. He was sworn in on 9 September 2013 in a ceremony held at Aiwan-e-Sadr, attended by mainstream political and military leadership alongside foreign dignitaries, media personnel and his close relatives. At the time of assuming the office of president, he became the second oldest president of Pakistan. His term for the presidency ended on 8 September 2018. Hussain shares a distinction with the former president Ayub Khan as both have given the oath of office to five chief justices of Pakistan each during their tenure, that is the maximum number of chief justices sworn in by any president of Pakistan. This was the first time in Pakistan's history that a second consecutive elected presidency completed its term, first being the presidency of Asif Ali Zardari. Before Zardari, only elected president to complete his term was Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry but there was no succession by an election.
