2013, during the third government of Nawaz Sharif, Dar was re-appointed as the Minister for Finance for the third time where he served until the dissolution of the cabinet following the removal from office of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in July 2017. In August 2017, he was inducted into the cabinet of Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and was re-appointed as Minister for Finance for the fourth time. In March 2018, he was re-elected to the Senate of Pakistan as the returning senator from Punjab on a technocrat seat and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has also reversed the suspension of his victory notification and restored his victory notification on January 9, 2023. Early life and education Muhammad Ishaq Dar was born in 1950. He earned a bachelor's degree in commerce from the Hailey College of Commerce of the University of the Punjab in Lahore; which he attended from 1966 to 1969. He then attended Government College University in Lahore. Dar was awarded two merit gold medals and a roll of honor for first position in B.Com. (Hons) at the University of Punjab. Interestingly, Nawaz Sharif had been his batch mate at Government College University Lahore from 1964 to 1966. Dar became an Associate Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales in 1974, he achieved his certification in chartered accountancy. He was one of the youngest Pakistanis at the time to have passed the esteemed professional qualification. In 1975, he became associate member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan as well. He obtained fellowship in the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales in 1980 and in the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan in 1984. Currently, he is a fellow member of the Pakistan Institute of Public Finance Accountants and Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales as well. Early career Professionally, Dar is a chartered & management accountant and economist After having worked as director of finance in a London-based textile corporation from 1974 to 1976, Dar moved to Libya in 1976 and worked for the Government of Libya as senior auditor in the Office of the Auditor General's Department in Tripoli. On returning to Pakistan in 1977, he became partner in a chartered accountancy firm and in 1980 he became financial adviser to Nazir & Company - a multinational construction company. Political career Initial political career Dar began