An Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry alumnus made international headlines late last year when he was elected president of Pakistan.

Dr. Arif Alvi ’84 Ortho took a remarkable step onto the world stage through the election held on September 4, 2018. He defeated Pakistan Peoples Party candidate Aitzaz Ahsan and the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) nominee Maulana Fazl ur Rehman in a three-way contest to become the country’s 13th president.

One of the founding members of the ruling party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and an ally of Prime Minister Imran Khan, Alvi is also a dentist and orthodontist who graduated from the Dugoni School of Dentistry’s Graduate Orthodontic program in 1984. He also earned a master of science degree in prosthodontics from University of Michigan in 1975.

Alvi started his political career about five decades ago when he was a student of de’Montmorency College of Dentistry, an affiliate of University of Punjab in Lahore, Pakistan. In addition to his involvement in politics, Alvi has served the oral healthcare profession in numerous ways. He became a diplomate of the American Board of Orthodontics in 1997. He is a past president of the Pakistan Dental Association and was the primary author of the association’s constitution.

In addition to his involvement in politics, Alvi has served the oral healthcare profession in numerous ways.

“Dr. Aliv is an inspiring example of how leadership can take many forms and can even propel us into new fields of service beyond health care,” remarked Dr. Nader Nadershahi ’94, dean of the Dugoni School of Dentistry.

Dentistry runs in Alvi’s family. His father, Dr. Habib ur Rehman Elahi Alvi, served as a dentist to India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, prior to Partition in 1947. The family then moved to the newly created nation of Pakistan.