World Leaders with Legal Credentials
Out of the 46 Presidents of the United States, 27 of them worked as lawyers. It is no coincidence that more than half of these leaders had a background in law.
If you look at countries around the world, you will notice a similar trend. This fact has probably piqued your interest about the legal field. But realistically, why should you study law? If you dig a little deeper, your research will probably yield these results.
There have been many world leaders with law background throughout history. Here are some of them:
More than half of the presidents of the United States of America were law graduates and practicing lawyers before holding office. Among the luminaries are Abraham Lincoln, Bill Clinton, Richard Nixon, Franklin Roosevelt Barack Obama and Joe Biden, the current US President.
BARACK OBAMA
Barack Obama worked as a civil rights attorney in Chicago and taught law at one stage. His efforts in advocacy for many social groups including black voters earned him popularity to win three terms as a state senator. Obama’s charisma as community organiser and politician has been aided by his devotion to healthcare law reform. He used his understanding of legal rights to drive civil rights campaigning, primarily for the underprivileged. In fact, when he was a US Senator, he introduced many key bills in Congress and sponsored numerous amendments as well. This aided his significant achievement in passing a new healthcare bill, something previous presidents had failed to do.
BENAZIR BHUTTO
She was the eldest daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the fourth President and ninth Prime Minister of Pakistan. Bhutto studied in Harvard University where she obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Government. She then took additional subjects in International Law at Oxford and became the first female Asian to head the college debating society. When her father was executed, Benazir Bhutto stepped into the realm of politics and became a leader for the Pakistani people. After a long, laborious struggle, Bhutto was elected Prime Minister at age 35, becoming the youngest person to hold the position.
NELSON MANDELA
Mandela was born into an African royal family that ruled a small area in Cape Province. He was the first of his family to go to school where he completed his Junior Certificate in two years instead of three. He began his law studies at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg after completing his BA from the University of South Africa via correspondence. Mandela was imprisoned for life after actively campaigning against the newly established apartheid policy. While in prison, he studied for a law degree from the University of London through its external programme and was awarded the Bachelor of Laws. An instrumental leader in the end of the apartheid regime, Mandela was elected President of South Africa in 1994 after his release from prison. He is also a Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
MARGARET THATCHER
As the ‘Iron Lady’, Margaret Thatcher governed the UK as Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990. She trained as a barrister before entering politics. In 1970, she was appointed the Secretary of Education and Science. In 1974, she contested to be leader of the Conservative Party and won, becoming Britain’s first female Prime Minister in 1979.
MALAYSIAN PRIME MINISTERS
Malaysia's first Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj made three attempts to finish his law degree, which were disrupted for various reasons, one of them being the outbreak of World War 2. He returned to Malaya from the UK to lead the fight for independence from the British. He then joined UMNO and became very active in Malayan nationalist politics. He was a central figure in the negotiations of Malayan independence from British colonial rule. He later led his party to landslide victories in the general elections and became Prime Minister in 1957 and served until 1970. He passed away in 1990 at the age of 87.
The second Prime Minister of Malaysia and the father of former Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, Tun Abdul Razak read law at Lincoln’s Inn, London. While studying, he was also a member of the British Labour Party. He was a student leader in Kesatuan Melayu Great Britain before returning to Malaya where he rose to succeed Tunku Abdul Rahman as Premier.
Tun Hussein Onn was the son of Onn Jaafar, the founder of UMNO. Like his father, Tun Hussein was passionate about politics. He studied abroad where he qualified as a Barrister-at-Law and returned to stage a meteoric rise to the top post. He was aptly known as the Father of Unity for his work in promoting nationalism.
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