US Democrat Senator Christopher Van Hollen, who has set his sights on the 2028 contest for the American presidential office, was born in Karachi.
According to his biography on Maryland Manual Online — a website run by the Maryland state government — he was born in the port city in 1959.
Van Hollen himself spoke of his “special connection” with Pakistan in a clip released on the country’s Independence Day last year.
“I am proud to join you in celebrating Pakistan’s 79th Independence Day. I am fortunate to have a special connection with Pakistan, having been born in Karachi as the son of an American foreign service officer.
“Throughout my life, I have experienced first-hand the generosity, the goodness and the determination of the Pakistani people. I am proud to celebrate the strong people-to-people ties between our two countries […] I look forward to further strengthening the ties of friendship between the Americans and the Pakistani people,” he said in a short message.
In 2021, Van Hollen had thanked Pakistan among other countries for helping evacuate American nationals and others stranded in Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover of the country.
In the aftermath of the devastating 2022 floods, he met with then-foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari to discuss how the US can continue to assist efforts to help flood-affected people.
In February 2024, he wrote to Pakistan’s then-envoy, Ambassador Masood Khan, urging Pakistani authorities to fully investigate the allegations of fraud and electoral interference in the Feb 8 general elections.
He stressed that respecting the people’s mandate was the “only way a new government will be empowered to tackle issues facing Pakistan such as negotiating a new IMF agreement or investing to mitigate future floods”.
Apart from Pakistan, the Maryland senator also spent time in India, where he studied at Kodaikanal International School in the Tamil Nadu state. He later studied philosophy at Swarthmore College, followed by his Master’s in public policy from Harvard University. He earned his Juris Doctor degree from Georgetown University and was admitted to Maryland Bar in 1990.
He has been a member of the US Senate since January 2017. Previously, he had also been a member of the US House of Representatives from 2003 to 2017.
Following the Republicans’ thumping defeat in the recently held midterms, Van Hollen was seen as the potential candidate for the Senate majority leader.
However, he put the speculation to rest by telling Fox 5, which is owned by the Fox Broadcasting Company, that he had “made clear that I’m not looking to be the next Democratic leader. I’ve been kicking the tyres on a 2028 presidential election“.
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