Abul Hasan Chowdhury

Abul Hasan Chowdhury (born 15 April 1951; known as Kaiser)[1] is a Bangladeshi politician. He served as the State Minister of Foreign Affairs and a Jatiya Sangsad member representing the Tangail-1 constituency for two terms.[2]

For other people with similar names, see Abul Hossain (disambiguation).
Abul Hasan Chowdhury
আবুল হাসান চৌধুরী
State Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
14 July 1996 – 13 July 2001
Succeeded byReaz Rahman
Member of the Bangladesh Parliament
for Tangail-1
In office
14 July 1996 – 13 July 2001
Succeeded byMohammad Abdur Razzaque
In office
5 March 1991 – 24 November 1995
Preceded byKhandaker Anwarul Haque
Succeeded byAbdus Salam Talukder
Personal details
Born (1951-04-15) 15 April 1951
Dhaka, East Bengal, Dominion of Pakistan
Political partyBangladesh Awami League
SpouseNahid Chowdhury
Children2
Parent
RelativesAbdul Hamid Chowdhury (grandfather)
Alma materUniversity of Oxford

Early life and education

Chowdhury was born on 15 April 1951 in Dhaka, East Bengal. He belonged to a Bengali Muslim zamindar family from Nagbari in Tangail, then part of Mymensingh district. He is the eldest son of a former president of Bangladesh, Abu Sayeed Chowdhury.[3] His grandfather, Abdul Hamid Chowdhury, was a former speaker of the East Pakistan Provincial Assembly.[4]

After completing his primary and secondary education from St. Gregory’s High School in 1968, Chowdhury was admitted to the University of Oxford where he studied philosophy, politics and economics and obtained his M.A. in 1976.[1]

Career

Chowdhury joined the Awami League in 1990. He won his first election in 1991 from his ancestral constituency, Madhupur. He was the opposition whip and international affairs secretary of Awami league from 1991 to 1996, while the party was in opposition. After winning his second election in 1996 he served as the state minister of foreign affairs.

Controversy

The World Bank pulled out the $1.2 Bn funding for the Padma bridge project on the grounds that there was conspiracy to commit corruption. Abul Hasan Chowdhury, along with a few others, were accused of using connections in order to acquire the project. The Royal Canada Mounted Police filed a case in Toronto against the accused.

In 2015, the ACC investigated the case of Padma Bridge Scandal. After the World Bank continuously pushed the government to take actions against the alleged perpetrators, after 53 days' of investigation, ACC found nobody to be guilty. On the basis of ACC's report, Dhaka district judge court acquitted all the seven government officials who were alleged to have been involved in the corruption plot. Before that, the ACC exonerated Syed Abul Hossain and Chowdhury from the allegation of involvement in the corruption conspiracy. In 2017, the Canadian court found no proof of Padma bridge conspiracy and the Ontario Superior Court acquitted all, dismissing the case.[5]

Personal life

Chowdhury is married to Nahid Chowdhury.[1]

References
  1. "Mr. Abul Hasan Chowdhury". Green Delta Insurance. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
  2. "Abul Hasan Chowdhury Former State Minister". Abul Hasan Chowdhury Former State Minister. Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2017-01-27.
  3. "Hasina blames "one person" for World Bank pullout on Padma Bridge". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 2017-04-24.
  4. "সাবেক স্পিকার আব্দুল হামিদ চৌধুরীর ৪৫তম মৃত্যুবার্ষিকী আজ". The Daily Ittefaq (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 28 December 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  5. "Canada court finds no proof of Padma bridge bribery conspiracy". The Daily Star. 2017-02-11. Retrieved 2017-12-20.
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