Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was born on January 5, 1928. He was the only son of Sir Shah Nawaz Bhutto.

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto attained his initial education from Bombay's Cathedral High School. In 1947, he joined University of Southern California (USC), and later joined University of California at Berkeley in June 1949. After securing his degree of honors in political science at Berkeley in June 1950, he was admitted to Oxford.

On September 8, 1951 Zulfikar Ali Bhutto got married with Nusrat Isphahani . He was called to bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1953 and in the same year his first child, Benazir Bhutto was born on June 21.

After returning to Pakistan Mr.Bhutto started practicing Law at Dingomal's. In 1958, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto joined President Mirza's cabinet as Commerce minister. After Ayub Khan took over, Bhutto joined the cabinet as the youngest member. In 1963, he took over as Foreign Minister from Muhammad Ali Bogra.

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto launched Pakistan People's Party (PPP) after leaving the cabinet of Ayub Khan. In the general elections held in December 1970, PPP won a large majority in West Pakistan but, failed to reach an agreement with Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rehman, the majority winner from East Pakistan. Following the 1971 war and the separation of East Pakistan, Yahya Khan resigned and Bhutto took over as President and Chief Martial Law Administrator on December 20, 1971.

In early 1972, Bhutto nationalized ten categories of major industries, and withdrew Pakistan from Commonwealth of nations and SEATO when Britain and other western countries recognized the new state of Bangladesh. On March 1, he introduced land reforms, and on July 2, 1972, signed Simla Agreement with India which paved way for the return of occupied lands and Pakistani POWs captured in East Pakistan in the 1971 war.

After the National Assembly passed the 1973 constitution, Bhutto was sworn-in as the Prime Minister of the country.

On December 30, 1973, Bhutto laid the foundation of Pakistan's first steel mill at Pipri, near Karachi. On January 1, 1974, Bhutto nationalized all banks. On February 22, 1974, the Second Islamic Summit was inaugurated in Lahore. Heads of States of most of the thirty eight Islamic countries attended. Following a political crisis in the country, Bhutto was imprisoned by General Zia-ul-Haq who imposed Martial Law on July 5, 1977. On April 4, 1979, the former Prime Minister was hanged, after the Supreme Court upheld the death sentence passed by the Lahore High Court. The High Court had given him death sentence in the case of murder of the father of a dissident PPP politician. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was buried in his ancestral village, at Garhi Khuda Baksh next to his father's grave.