A. M. Zahiruddin Khan (1 March 1936 – 29 March 2005) was a Bangladeshi politician and industrialist. He served as a Jatiya Sangsad member representing the Chittagong-6 constituency during 1979–1982.

Early life

Khan was the eldest son of

Abul Kashem Khan Abul Kashem Khan (best known as A. K. Khan; 5 April 1905 – 31 March 1991) was a Bangladeshi lawyer, industrialist and politician. In 1945, he founded A K Khan & Company, one of Pakistan's leading conglomerates until 1971, when it became one ...

, a minister in the central cabinet of the then Pakistan. Foreign minister

Morshed Khan Morshed Khan (born 8 August 1940) is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh from 2001 until 2006. He served as a Jatiya Sangsad member representing the Chittagong-10 constituency in the 6th, 7th and ...

was his cousin and brother-in-law. He studied at St. Paul's School in Darjeeling, India, later on at

Aitchison College Aitchison College ( ur, ایچیسن کالج) is an independent, semi-private boys school for boarding and day students from grade 1–13 in Lahore, Pakistan. It has a tradition of providing an education that uses academics, sports, and co-curri ...

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

, Pakistan.

Career

In 1958, Khan became the managing director of

A K Khan & Company A K Khan & Co. Ltd. is one of the oldest Bangladeshi conglomerates headquartered in Chittagong. It was established in 1945 by Abul Kashem Khan during the Second World War. Projects The company is planning to setup a tyre plant under joint collab ...

and later the chairman in 1991. He was also the founding Chairman of AKTEL and Chairman of COATS Bangladesh, Bengal Fisheries Ltd. He was the President of Chittagong Chamber of Commerce & Industry (CCCI) from two consecutive terms. In 1977 he was elected President of Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce & Industry ( FBCCI). As President of FBCCI, he initiated the formation of Islamic Chambers of Commerce & Industry. He was also elected Chairman of the Working Group for drafting of the Islamic Chamber of Commerce & Industry Constitution in the Istanbul Conference in 1977. He also participated in the

International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...

(ILO) conference in Geneva in 1975 as representative of Bangladesh Employers. He was also chairman of

All Pakistan Textile Mills Association The All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) is an association for Textile industry in Pakistan. APTMA represents over 400 textile mills in Pakistan. The textile industry is Pakistan's largest industry and textile is the most important exp ...

(East Zone) from 1969 to 1971, founder chairman of Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), founder director of Investment Corporation of Bangladesh (ICB) and Director of

Sadharan Bima Corporation Sadharan Bima Corporation (popularly known as SBC) is the one and only state-owned non-life insurer and reinsurer in Bangladesh under the Ministry of Finance, Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh. Both Sadharan Bima Corporation, ...

. He also served as Chairman of Sonali Bank. Khan joined politics in 1978 and was also elected Member of Parliament (MP) in 1979 from Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) led by President

Ziaur Rahman Lt. General Ziaur Rahman (19 January 1936 – 30 May 1981), was a Bangladeshi military officer and politician who served as the President of Bangladesh from 1977 to 1981. He was assassinated on 30 May 1981 in Chittagong in an army coup d' ...

. He became a member of Begum Khaleda Zia's cabinet in 1991 as the planning minister and later as industries minister.

Personal life

Zahiruddin's eldest son, Schezade A.K Khan, is married to Zarka Rumana Khwaja, a descendant of Khwaja Yunus Ali Enayetpuri. His younger son, Kalim A. Khan, was married to Nusrat Khanam, daughter of industrialist S.M Kamaluddin (Founder of

Concord Group Concord Group is a Bangladeshi conglomerate. The industries under this conglomerate include construction, real estate, architecture & design, communication, entertainment, hospitality, and garments. SM Kamaluddin is the chairman. History Conc ...

). Kalim died in 2009 in Singapore during treatment after sustaining injuries from an explosion that occurred at his Gulshan-2 residence. His daughter is married to Faisal Morshed Khan, the only son of his first-cousin

Death

Zahiruddin Khan died on 29 March 2005 in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

at the age of 69. His death was condoled by President Iajuddin Ahmed, Speaker of the Jatiya Sangsad Barrister Jamiruddin Sircar, and other prominent members of the government and society.

References

External links

A. M. Zahiruddin Khan at A.K. Khan & Company Ltd official website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, A.M. Zahiruddin 1936 births 2005 deaths Bangladesh Nationalist Party politicians 2nd Jatiya Sangsad members Planning ministers of Bangladesh Industries ministers of Bangladesh