Sartaj Aziz has had a distinguished career as a civil servant in Pakistan in the Ministry of Finance and the National Planning Commission. In 1971, he embarked on his international career as Director of the Commodities and Trade Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). He has also served as Assistant President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), a specialized UN agency that he helped to create. He began his political career
as Minister of State for Food and Agriculture, he then served as Minister for Finance and Economic Affairs, and took over as Minister for Foreign Affairs. He was a member of the Pakistan Senate from 1985 to 1999. From 2004 to 2013, Sartaj Aziz served as the first Vice Chancellor of Beaconhouse
National University. After the 2013 elections, he resumed his political career as Advisor to the Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs and then as Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission.