September 10, 2018

An alumnus of University of the Pacific's Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry made international headlines last week when he was elected as president of Pakistan.

Dr. Arif Alvi Ortho '84 took a remarkable step onto the world stage through the election held on Sept. 4. 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, Dr. Alvi is also a dentist and orthodontist who graduated from the Dugoni School of Dentistry's Orthodontics program in 1984.

In addition to his involvement in politics, Dr. Alvi has served the profession of oral healthcare 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. Dr. Alvi started his political career about five decades ago when he was a student of de'Montmonrency College of Dentistry, an affiliate of University of Punjab in Lahore, Pakistan. He obtained his Master of Science degree in Prosthodontics from the University of Michigan in 1975.

"This is an inspiring example of how leadership can take many forms and can even propel us into new fields of service beyond healthcare," remarked Dr. Nader A. Nadershahi, dean of the Dugoni School. "Dr. Alvi has served as a leader in the profession and in his country for many years, and it is exciting to see him demonstrate one of our school's core values of leadership in this new way."

Dentistry runs in Dr. Alvi's family. His father Dr. Habib ur Rehman Elahi Alvi was 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.

Dr. Alvi and his wife Samina Alvi have four children.

Learn more about Dr. Alvi's involvement in oral healthcare and politics ›

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Categories: Alumni, Leadership, 2018

Contact: Office of Marketing and Communications, 415.929.6434, pr@pacific.edu