Abu Sayeed Chowdhury (31 January 1921 – 2 August 1987) was a jurist and the President of Bangladesh. Besides that, he held the positions of the Chairmen of the United Nations Commission on Human rights, the vice-chancellor of the

University of Dhaka The University of Dhaka (also known as Dhaka University, or DU) is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is the oldest university in Bangladesh. The university opened its doors to students on July 1st 1921. Currently i ...

, the

Foreign Minister of Bangladesh The Minister of Foreign Affairs ( bn, পররাষ্ট্রমন্ত্রী; ''Pororashtrya Montri''; or simply the Foreign Minister) is the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of the People's Republic of Banglades ...

and the first Bangladesh High Commissioner to the UK.

Early life and education

Chowdhury was born on 31 January 1921 in a Zamindar family of Nagbari in

Tangail District Tangail ( bn, টাঙ্গাইল জেলা) formerly a small Mohokuma of Greater Mymensingh district is a district (''zila'') in the central region of Bangladesh. In 1969, Tangail district was created by Tangail Mohokuma from its 237 ...

. His father Abdul Hamid Chowdhury apart from being a Zamindar become the speaker of the East Pakistan Provincial Assembly later on in his life. He was given the title "Khan Bahadur" by the British Empire, a title which he later renounced to give his voice to the movement against British atrocities and the British Empire. Chowdhury graduated in 1940 from the Presidency College in Calcutta. He obtained his master's and law degrees from

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate State university (India), state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered ...

in 1942 and after the second world war he completed bar-at-law in London.

Career

Lord James at the office of the Vice-Chancellor of Dacca University, November 1970

Chowdhury joined the Calcutta High Court Bar in 1947, and after the partition of India he came over to Dhaka and joined the Dhaka High Court Bar in 1948. In 1960, he was appointed as the advocate general of

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India ...

. He was elevated to the post of Additional Judge of the Dhaka High Court on 7 July 1961 by the then Pakistani President Ayub Khan and was confirmed as judge of the Dhaka High Court after two years. He had been a member of the Constitution Commission (1960–61) and chairman of the Bengali Development Board (1963–1968). Chowdhury was appointed as the vice-chancellor of the

in 1969. In 1971, while in Geneva he resigned from the post as a protest against the genocide in East Pakistan by the Pakistan army. From Geneva he went to the UK and became the special envoy of the provisional

Mujibnagar Government The Provisional Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, popularly known as the Mujibnagar Government, was established following the declaration of independence of East Pakistan as Bangladesh on 10 April 1971. Headed by prime minis ...

. An umbrella organisation, ''The Council for the People's Republic of Bangladesh in UK'' was formed on 24 April 1971 in Coventry, UK, by the expatriate Bengalis, and a five-member steering committee of the council was elected by them. He was the High Commissioner for the People's Republic of Bangladesh, London from 1 August 1971 to 8 January 1972.

President of Bangladesh

After liberation, Chowdhury returned to Dhaka and was elected as President of Bangladesh on 12 January 1972. On 10 April 1973, he was again elected as President of Bangladesh, and in the same year (December) he resigned and become special envoy for external relations with the rank of a minister. On 8 August 1975, he was included in the cabinet of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as minister of ports and shipping. After Rahman was

assassinated Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a ...

, he became the minister for foreign affairs in the cabinet of President

Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad (also spelled Khandakar Mushtaq Ahmed; – 5 March 1996) was a Bangladeshi politician. He was the President of Bangladesh from 15 August to 6 November 1975, after the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He was part ...

in August 1975, a position which he held till 7 November the same year.

UN Committee

In 1978, Chowdhury was elected a member of the United Nations Sub-committee on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities. In 1985, he was elected chairman of the UN Human Rights Commission. He was honoured with the insignia of ''Deshikottam'' by Visva-Bharati University. Calcutta University awarded him the honorary degree of Doctor of Law.

Death and legacy

Chowdhury died of a heart attack in London on 2 August 1987 and was buried in his village, Nagbari of Tangail.

Controversy

Right after the

assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman The first president of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and most of his family were killed during the early hours of 15 August 1975 by a group of young Bangladesh Army personnel who invaded his Bangabandhu Memorial Museum, Dhanmondi 32 resi ...

, Abu Sayeed Chowdhury joined the cabinet of the new government as the foreign minister and praised the mastermind of the assassination

by saying, "President Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad believes in democracy and he wants to restore democratic atmosphere in the country."

Books

* ''Probashe Muktijuddher Dinguli'' * ''Manobadhikar'' * ''Human Rights in the Twentieth Century'' * ''Muslim Family Law in the English Courts''

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chowdhury, Abu Sayeed 1921 births 1987 deaths People from Tangail District University of Calcutta alumni Presidency University, Kolkata alumni Vice-Chancellors of the University of Dhaka Awami League politicians Presidents of Bangladesh Foreign ministers of Bangladesh Honorary Fellows of Bangla Academy