Benazir Bhutto was born on June 21, 1953, in Karachi, Pakistan, as the eldest child of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who later became Prime Minister, and Begum Nusrat Bhutto. She received her early education at the Convent of Jesus and Mary in Karachi and Murree, followed by higher studies at Radcliffe College at Harvard University, where she earned a BA in comparative government in 1973, and then at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, studying philosophy, politics, and economics until 1977. Following her father's overthrow and execution in 1979 by General Zia-ul-Haq, Bhutto assumed leadership of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), enduring imprisonment and exile before returning to lead the movement for democracy. She served as Pakistan's 11th Prime Minister in two terms: 1988-1990 and 1993-1996, becoming the first woman elected to head a government in a Muslim-majority country. Her administrations focused on economic reforms, nuclear development, and women's rights, but were dismissed amid allegations of corruption, abuse of power, and favoritism toward her husband Asif Ali Zardari, leading to multiple legal cases against her in Switzerland, Britain, and Pakistan. Exiled again in 1999 after a military coup, she negotiated a return in 2007 under a power-sharing deal, only to be assassinated on December 27, 2007, in Rawalpindi during an election rally, in an attack involving gunfire and a suicide bomb that killed over 20 others; investigations pointed to al-Qaeda and Taliban links, though conspiracy theories implicated political rivals. Ideologically a liberal secularist, Bhutto authored books like 'Daughter of the East' and advocated for moderate Islam, democracy, and anti-terrorism. Her legacy endures through the PPP, now led by her son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, amid ongoing debates over her governance record tainted by scandals including money laundering charges (some later dropped) and criticism for failing to curb extremism.