Humayun Akhtar Khan (Urdu: ہمایوں اختر خان) (born 1 April 1955) is a Pakistani politician, business tycoon and actuary. He has been elected as a member of the National Assembly four consecutive times between 1990 and 2007, having served as Federal Minister for Trade and Commerce from 2002 to 2007 and as Chairman Board of Investment / Minister of State for Investment from 1997 to 1999.
Khan is the Chairman of Akhtar Fuiou Technologies, an Agri-Fintech platform better known for its smartphone application DigiTT+, which is licensed by the State Bank of Pakistan as an Electronic Money Institution. He also owns Tandlianwala Sugar Mills and Lotte Akhtar Beverages (PepsiCo franchise).
Humayun Akhtar Khan was born on 1 April 1955 in Multan to ex-DG ISI General Akhtar Abdur Rahman and Rashida Begum.
He received his early education from Army Burn Hall College, Abbottabad, and Saint Mary's Academy, Rawalpindi. He then received a bachelor's degree in business mathematics from Government College University, Lahore, and a master's degree in actuarial science and business administration from the University of Manitoba, Canada.
He is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, United States, since 1980 and of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries since 1981.
For around a decade while residing in Toronto, Canada, from 1977 to 1987, Khan worked in senior executive positions in leading multinational corporations and insurance companies including North American Life.
Khan, along with his brothers, decided to move back to Pakistan in 1988 after the death of their father, General Akhtar Abdur Rahman, who died in a plane crash which also killed President Zia-ul-Haq. The Akhtar brothers, along with their cousin Jahangir Khan Tareen and his brother-in-law Makhdoom Ahmed Mehmood, together bought Riaz Bottlers (bottling and distribution franchise for PepsiCo beverages in Pakistan) from former Chief Minister of Punjab Sadiq Hussain Qureshi. The consortium managed to turn around the fortunes of Riaz Bottlers from bankruptcy to being the standout company in the beverage industry with key sponsorship deals including that with the Pakistan cricket team and a vast portfolio of the beverages that PepsiCo Pakistan produces such as Pepsi, Mountain Dew, 7-Up, Aquafina, Mirinda, Slice and Sting.
In 2018, South Korean chaebol Lotte Chilsung acquired a controlling stake in Riaz Bottlers (now known as Lotte Akhtar Beverages) although the Akhtar brothers maintain a significant minority share and are Lotte's strategic partners in Pakistan.
After success in the beverage industry, the Akhtar brothers entered the Pakistan's sugar industry. They later expanded into production of downstream products such as carbon dioxide and ethanol. Tandlianwala Sugar Mills is the fourth largest producer of sugar in addition to being the largest exporter of ethanol in the country. As of 30 September 2023, it had Sales of Rs.42.3 billion.
The group includes three sugar mills in Tandlianwala, Muzaffargarh, and Dera Ismail Khan with a combined sugarcane crushing capacity of 48,000 tons of cane per day (480,000 metric tonnes of sugar per year); two ENA ethanol distilleries in Tandlianwala and Muzaffargarh with a production capacity of 265,000 liters of ethanol per day (66,000 metric tonnes of ethanol per year), and a carbon dioxide recovery plant with a capacity of 48 tons per day (annual production of 16,000 tonnes).
Lahore Politics and Board of Investment (1990–1999)
Khan started his political journey in 1990 when he contested the elections representing Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI) from NA-92 Lahore constituency (now NA-123), which was then considered a Pakistan Peoples Party stronghold. Khan won the election, beating PPP's Rafiq Ahmed Sheikh.
He became a member of Pakistan Muslim League (N) after it broke away from the IJI. In the 1993 general election, he contested for the National Assembly seat from the NA-93 Lahore constituency (now NA-121, which was then known as the 'Larkana of Lahore' as it was another PPP stronghold. He beat PPP's Aitzaz Ahsan, and was thus elected as a member of the National Assembly for a second time.
In the 1997 general election, despite being elected twice from PPP strongholds in Lahore and defeating PPP stalwarts in previous elections, he was not awarded a PML-N ticket. However, he was elected in the by-election on the Rahim Yar Khan MNA seat NA-150 (now NA-174) given up by his business partner Makhdoom Ahmed Mehmood. Upon being elected, he was appointed Chairman Board of Investment and Minister of State for Investment.
Musharraf Coup and PML-Q (1999–2002)
After the military coup in 1999 in which Nawaz Sharif was overthrown by General Pervez Musharraf, Humayun Akhtar, along with many of Nawaz Sharif's close aides, were under house arrest for months. For two years, the National Accountability Bureau launched thorough investigations against Humayun's family and placed him on the Exit Control List. After being cleared of all allegations leveled against him, Humayun resumed his political career in 2001.
In 2002, General Pervez Musharraf, who by then had also become the president of Pakistan, promised that there would be general elections in October. Because Nawaz Sharif had been exiled to Saudi Arabia and the military establishment gave the impression that he was gone for good, many of his most prominent party leaders, including Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, Ijaz-ul-Haq, Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, Shaikh Rasheed Ahmad, Mian Azhar and Humayun Akhtar Khan, formed a new party called Pakistan Muslim League- Quaid-e-Azam. Humayun contested from constituency NA-125, which was in fact part of what was once called NA-93, the constituency he won from in 1993, and defeated Akram Zaki of PML-N and Naveed Chaudhry of PPP. He was one of only two PML-Q MNA candidates to be elected from the 13 seats in Lahore and was appointed Federal Minister for Trade and Commerce.
Commerce Ministry and Prime Ministerial Candidacy (2002–2007)