( CNN ) -- Benazir Bhutto , who was assassinated Thursday in Rawalpindi , was the first female prime minister of Pakistan and of any Islamic nation . She led Pakistan from 1988 to 1990 and again from 1993 to 1996 . Benazir Bhutto died Thursday after a suicide bombing at a political rally in Rawalpindi , Pakistan . Bhutto , 54 , spent eight years in self-imposed exile in Great Britain and Dubai after President Farooq Leghari dismissed her second administration amid accusations of corruption , intimidation of the judiciary , a breakdown of law and order , and undermining the justice system . She was found guilty of corruption and sentenced to five years in prison . The conviction was later overturned but she remained in exile until this year . She returned to Pakistan in October after President Pervez Musharraf signed an amnesty lifting corruption charges . Watch political history of Bhutto » . In a September 26 interview on CNN 's `` The Situation Room , '' Bhutto said she expected threats against her life as she prepared to lead a push for the restoration of democracy in Pakistan . `` After military dictatorship an anarchic situation developed , which the terrorists and Osama ( bin Laden ) have exploited , '' she told CNN 's Wolf Blitzer . `` They do n't want democracy , they do n't want me back , and they do n't believe in women governing nations , so they will try to plot against me . `` But these are risks that must be taken . I 'm prepared to take them , '' she said . Bhutto narrowly escaped injury on October 18 when a suicide bombing near her convoy in Karachi killed 126 people . `` Soon thereafter , I was asked by authorities not to travel in cars with tinted windows -- which protected me from identification by terrorists -- or travel with privately armed guards , '' she wrote for CNN.com in November . `` I began to feel the net was being tightened around me when police security outside my home in Karachi was reduced , even as I was told that other assassination plots were in the offing . '' `` I decided not to be holed up in my home , a virtual prisoner , '' she wrote . `` I went to my ancestral village of Larkana to pray at my father 's grave . Everywhere , the people rallied around me in a frenzy of joy . I feel humbled by their love and trust . '' Musharraf declared a state of emergency and placed Bhutto under house arrest twice in November as anti-government rallies grew in Rawalpindi . The arrest warrant was lifted November 16 . She filed a nomination paper for a parliamentary seat on November 25 and appeared headed for a power showdown with Musharraf before she was assassinated Thursday . See a timeline of Bhutto 's political career » . Bhutto was the daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto , former president and prime minister of Pakistan , who was hanged in 1979 for the murder of a political opponent two years after he was ousted as prime minister in a military coup . Benazir Bhutto was the de facto leader of her father 's Pakistan People 's Party . Her brother , Murtaza , was killed along with six others in a 1996 shootout with police at his home . Another brother , Shahnawaz , died mysteriously in France in 1985 . `` I know the past is tragic , but I 'm an optimist by nature , '' Bhutto told Blitzer in September . `` I put my faith in the people of Pakistan , I put my faith in God . I feel that what I am doing is for a good cause , for a right cause -- to save Pakistan from extremists and militants and to build regional security . `` I know the danger is out there , but I 'm prepared to take those risks . '' Benazir Bhutto earned degrees from Radcliffe College and Oxford University and received an honorary degree from Harvard University in 1989 . She leaves her husband of 20 years , Asif Ali Zardari , two daughters and a son . Bhutto 's husband issued a statement Thursday from his home in Dubai saying , `` All I can say is we 're devastated , it 's a total shock . '' President Bush , on his ranch in Crawford , Texas , said Bhutto `` refused to allow assassins to dictate the course of her country . '' `` We stand with the people of Pakistan in their struggle against the forces of terror and extremism , '' Bush said . `` We urge them to honor Benazir Bhutto 's memory by continuing with the democratic process for which she so bravely gave her life . '' E-mail to a friend .
NEW : Bush : Bhutto ` ` refused to allow anyone to dictate the fate of her country '' She was first female prime minister of a Muslim country . She survived assassination attempts in October . Her father , a former prime minister , was hanged in December .