Izzat Hyat-Khan

HE Sardar Izzat Hayat Khan (also written Izzat Hyat-Khan sometimes) (16 August 1929 - 6 October 2002), was a scion of a prominent family from the north-Punjab region of pre-partition India now Pakistan and businessman who served Pakistan as Ambassador to Tunisia, and as representative to the Arab League from 1980 to 1983.^[1]

Early Life and Education

He was the son of Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan, Jatt Khattar, Premier of the Punjab (1936-1942), from his third wife, Sarda Bibi, of humble Kanjar origins.

He attended the leading preparatory boarding school Prince of Wales Royal Indian Military College (now Rashtriya Indian Military College) in Dehra Dun, India, India.

In 1947, after the partition of India, he transferred to the Aitchison College in Lahore, from where he received his high school diploma

In 1948, he was among the first batch of cadets nominated and accepted to attend the newly formed Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) in Kakul. However he wasn't happy there and received an honorable discharge from the PMA and decided to pursue a career in business management abroad. He left for the United Kingdom from where received his professional certificate in accountancy from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) .

Key Career Events

After graduating, Khan joined Glaxo Laboratories' Executive Management Training program in the UK. At Glaxo, he held various executive management roles and was a member of the M&A team at Glaxo that completed the acquisition of Allen & Hanbury's in 1958. He was later appointed as Region Head and General Manager, and was stationed in Dhaka (Bangladesh then East Pakistan), Karachi and Lahore in West Pakistan (now Pakistan).

In 1966, he set up F&I Industries (Pvt.) Limited, in Islamabad, Pakistan, a sugar confectionery products manufacturing company.

In 1980, Khan was nominated to build ties with Maghreb nations by serving as a specially politically appointed Ambassador to Tunisia and Special Envoy to the Arab League, by the Pakistani dictator and president General Zia-ul-Haq.

Between 1980 and 1983, he organized multiple milestone audiences between the late Chaudhry Sir Muhammad Zafarullah Khan (Pakistan's first Foreign Minister), Prof. Dr. Abdus Salam (Nobel Laureate of Pakistan), and others with the late President Habib Ben Ali Bourguiba of Tunisia

In 1983, Khan was offered an extension on the Ambassadorial assignment, however, he declined due to developing differences with then President General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq.

He returned to Pakistan in 1983 and turned his focus towards revitalizing F&I Industries, taking it from a manufacturer of confectionery products to a diversified food conglomerate by entering the dried-milk powder products segment.

Later life

In 1987, Khan suffered from heart conditions and was flown to Houston, Texas, USA, where he was treated at Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center by the famed Dr. Denton Cooley. Later that year, he relocated to Long Beach, California for a brief period reviewing investments in the hospitality and services industry. This was cut short as he was diagnosed with laryngeal cancer and for which he underwent surgery in Long Beach, CA, returning to Pakistan in 1988.

Khan suffered from a severe stroke that left him gravely ill. He died at Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead UK, at age 73, on the morning of 6 October 2002.

He is buried in the Muslim Quarter of Hendon Cemetery in London, United Kingdom.

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