Read the profiles of the advisors to the interim government
Aside from Chief Advisor Dr Yunus, there are 16 advisors to the government
The new interim government of Bangladesh, led by its Chief Advisor Dr Muhammad Yunus, has been sworn in by President Mohammed Shahabuddin at the Bangabhaban tonight (8 August).
Aside from Dr Yunus, there are 16 advisors to the government. Read their full profiles below:
Dr Salehuddin Ahmed, Former Governor, Bangladesh bank
Dr Salehuddin Ahmed joined as the governor of the Bangladesh Bank on 2 May 2005 and completed his four-year tenure on 30 April 2009. He served in various capacities in the field of administration in the Bangladesh government. Salehuddin was the managing director of Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF), the apex funding agency of microcredit operations in Bangladesh.
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He obtained his PhD in Economics from McMaster University, Canada in 1978. He started his career with a short period in the Planning Department of the Government of East Pakistan and later joined as a teacher in Economics at Dhaka University. He also served as the director general of Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development (BARD) Cumilla and the director general of the NGO Affairs Bureau under the Office of the Prime Minister.
Prof Asif Nazrul, Law Department, Dhaka University
Dr Asif Nazrul is a professor of law at Dhaka University. He completed his undergraduate in 1986 and his postgraduate in 1987 from the same department. In 1999, he earned his PhD from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. Later, he received a post-doctoral fellowship from the Environmental Law Center in Bonn, Germany.
He also served as a Commonwealth Fellow at SOAS. Born on 12 January 1966, Asif Nazrul is well-known for his bold political analysis in television talk shows and his newspaper columns. He is the author of more than 10 books. Before joining Dhaka University as a faculty member, Asif Nazrul worked at the weekly magazine "Bichitra" in 1991.
Adilur Rahman Khan, Secretary, Odhikar
Adilur Rahman Khan Shubho is a Supreme Court lawyer and the secretary of the human rights organisation "Odhikar". During the last BNP-Jamaat coalition government, he served as deputy attorney general, a role he continued during the military-backed caretaker government of the One-Eleven period. After the Awami League formed the government following the 2008 elections, he resigned from his position.
In 2013, a case was filed against him under the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Act, accusing him of publishing a "false" report through Odhikar on the number of casualties during the law enforcement crackdown on the Hefazat-e-Islam movement. He was convicted in that case and later released on bail last year. Adilur Rahman Khan studied law at the University of Dhaka.
Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Environmental Activist
Syeda Rizwana Hasan is a Supreme Court lawyer and an environmental activist, serving as the Chief Executive of the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA). She has gained prominence for filing various environmental protection cases in the Supreme Court.
Rizwana Hasan has received several prestigious awards for her work, including the "Environmental Award" from the Ministry of Forest and Environment of the Bangladesh government and the "Goldman Environmental Prize," making her the first Bangladeshi to receive this honour. In 2009, she was named one of Time magazine's "Heroes of the Environment." Additionally, she received the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2012.
Born in 1968, Rizwana Hasan completed her SSC from Viqarunnisa Noon School and College, and her HSC from Holy Cross College. She initially enrolled in the Department of Public Administration at the University of Dhaka but later switched to the Department of Law.
Nurjahan Begum, Managing Director, Grameen Shikkha
Nurjahan Begum served as the acting managing director of Grameen Bank after Muhammad Yunus was removed from the position by Bangladesh Bank. She is currently the Managing Director of Grameen Shikkha, a non-profit organisation under the Grameen family. Before this, she was appointed as the chairperson of Grameen Distribution in 2010.
Nurjahan Begum was one of Professor Yunus's key associates when the Grameen Bank project began in 1976. At that time, she was a student at the University of Chittagong. She played a significant role in organising and training poor rural women within the grassroots groups of Grameen Bank. She was also the first principal of the Grameen Bank Training Institute. Additionally, she serves on the boards of several organisations, including Grameen Foundation, USA. Nurjahan Begum has been recognised with various awards and honours for her contributions.
Md Nahid Islam, Student
Md Nahid Islam, a resident of Dhaka city, is a master's student of Sociology at Dhaka University.
He is the key leader behind the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement which eventually led to the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government. He is also the general secretary of the student organisation Chhatra Shakti at Dhaka University.
Nahid, 26, was born in 1998. He studied at the Government Science College, Dhaka. His father is a teacher and mother a homemaker. Nahid is married and has a younger brother.
Asif Mahmud, Student
Asif Mahmud, 26, from Muradnagar, Cumilla is a master's student of linguistics from Dhaka University. Asif is one of the key coordinators of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement.
He went to Nakhalpara Hossain Ali High School and passed his SSC in 2015. He passed his HSC from Adamjee Cantonment College in 2017. He was a former cadet sergeant for the college's BNCC platoon.
He was also the president of the Chattra Odhikhar Parishad of DU.
M Sakhawat Hussain
Brigadier General (retired) M Sakhawat Hussain is a former election commissioner of Bangladesh. Sakhawat graduated from the United States Army Command and General Staff College. He earned a Masters in Strategic Studies from the Quaid-i-Azam University in Islamabad, Pakistan.
He achieved MPhil degree from Bangladesh University of Professionals (BUP) on "Electoral Reform in Bangladesh 1972-2008" and obtained PhD from the same university for his thesis titled "Electoral Governance: Role of Electoral Management Body and Other Stakeholders in the Context of Bangladesh".
Sakhawat was commissioned in the Pakistan Army in 1966 from Pakistan Military Academy, Kakul. He joined the Bangladesh Army in 1972 upon that country's independence.
Farida Akhtar
Farida Akhtar is a writer, researcher, and activist. She was born at village Harla under Chandanaish upazila in Chattogram. She studied economics at the University of Chattogram.
She has been actively involved for nearly three decades in issues related to women's development, health, agriculture, fisheries, the handloom industry, the garments industry and workers, population, and developmental initiatives.
Currently, Farida serves as the executive director of UBINIG (Policy Research for Development Alternatives).
Among her published books are Nari O Gachh and Kaijuri Gramer Nari O Gachher Katha.
Supradip Chakma
Supradip Chakma, from Khagrachhari, is the chairman of Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Board.
Supradip previously worked as Bangladesh ambassador to Vietnam and Mexico and served as secretary of government. He was a student of marketing department of Dhaka University.
As a foreign cadre of BCS 1985 batch, he also served in the Bangladesh embassy in Rabat, Bangladesh High Commission in Colombo, Bangladesh embassy in Brussels and Bangladesh embassy in Ankara in various capacities.
AF Hassan Ariff
AF Hassan Ariff is a senior advocate of the Supreme Court and has been practising since 1970. He was enrolled as an advocate of the Calcutta High Court, West Bengal India in 1967.
He is the head of chambers of the AF Hassan Ariff & Associates.
Ariff held the office of attorney general for Bangladesh from October 2001 to April 2005. He was the law adviser of the caretaker government of Bangladesh from January 2008 to January 2009. He is a panellist in the pool of arbitrators of the Bangladesh International Arbitration Centre and SAARC Arbitration Council. Besides this, he is a court member of the ICC International Court of Arbitration.
Md Touhid Hossain
Md Touhid Hossain is a former foreign secretary of Bangladesh. He was born in 1955 and completed his master's degree in history from the University of Dhaka. He joined the Bangladesh Foreign Service in 1981.
Touhid was the deputy high commissioner of Bangladesh in Kolkata from 2001 to 2005. From 17 December 2006 to 8 July 2009, he was the foreign secretary of Bangladesh.
From July 2009 to July 2012, Touhid served as the principal of the Foreign Service Academy. In June 2012, he was appointed the high commissioner of Bangladesh to South Africa.
Bidhan Ranjan Roy
Bidhan Ranjan Roy is a psychology specialist hailing from Mymensingh. He was a director-cum-professor in the Department of Psychiatry at National Institute of Mental Health and Hospital.
Bidhan went to Government Jubilee High School, Sunamganj and passed HSC from Dhaka College. He completed his MBBS from Sir Salimullah Medical College, Dhaka. He was a former professor of psychiatry at Mymensingh Medical College.
AFM Khalid Hossain
AFM Khalid Hossain was the former nayeb-e-ameer of Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh, an education adviser to Islami Andolan Bangladesh, the editor of the monthly "At-Tawhid" and a guest lecturer in the Department of Quranic Sciences and Islamic Studies at the International Islamic University, Chattogram.
In 1971, he passed the Alim exams with a first division from Satkania Alia Mahmudul Ulum Madrasa, and in 1973, he completed his Fazil degree. He passed the Kamil exam under the Bangladesh Madrasa Education Board in 1975. In 1983, he obtained an MA in the same subject.
In 1987, he joined Satkania Alia Mahmudul Ulum Fazil Madrasa as a lecturer in Arabic language and literature. From 1992 until January 2019, he served as a professor and head of the Department of Islamic History and Culture at Chattogram's Omar Gani MES College.
On 15 November 2020, he was appointed nayeb-e-ameer of Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh, and on 2 January 2021, he was selected as the education adviser of Islami Andolan Bangladesh.
Sharmeen Murshid
Sharmeen Murshid, chief executive officer of the non-government organisation and local election observer group "Brotee," has long been active in advocating for voting rights and freedom of speech.
