A scion of the Haroon family, he is a businessman, social activist and a former Sindh Assembly speaker who was a board member of various educational institutes, sports associations and charity organisations.[3][4]
Haroon has demanded the establishment of a town on the outskirts of Karachi and proposed that it be named after late Benazir Bhutto. His suggestion was that up to six million people from the interior Sindh be settled there.[3] He was also part of the protest against real estate development in Bundal Island by UAE-based Emaar Properties. Haroon is also known to have ably advocated the Sindh case against the Kalabagh Dam.[3]
In 2017, he had become disillusioned with his former political party's leadership, Pakistan Peoples Party and was leaving himself open to negotiations to join other Pakistani political parties and also left open the possibility for himself of contesting for a position in the upcoming general elections in Pakistan in 2018.[7]
Ambassador to UN
In August 2008, Hussain Haroon was appointed as the Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations, replacing veteran Munir Akram.[4] The appointment was controversial because Haroon had no prior experience in the Pakistan Foreign Service or international diplomacy. He took over the post on 3 September 2008. Masood Khan, a career diplomat took over from Hussain Haroon on 1 January 2013.[5]