Anwar Bakht Choudhury ( bn, আনোয়ার বখত চৌধুরী; born 15 June 1959) is a British diplomat of

Bangladeshi Bangladeshis ( bn, বাংলাদেশী ) are the citizens of Bangladesh, a South Asian country centered on the transnational historical region of Bengal along the eponymous bay. Bangladeshi citizenship was formed in 1971, when the ...

origin. He was

Governor of the Cayman Islands The Governor of the Cayman Islands is the representative of the British monarch in the United Kingdom's overseas territory of the Cayman Islands. The Governor, a civil servant who has in modern times typically been a British subject normally resi ...

until he was recalled in June 2018 after less than three months in post. Prior to that, he was British Ambassador to Peru, Director of International Institutions at the

Foreign & Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' ministries of foreign affairs, it was created on 2 September 2020 through the merger of the Foreign ...

and High Commissioner to Bangladesh.

Early life

Choudhury was born on 15 June 1959, to a

Bengali Muslim Bengali Muslims ( bn, বাঙালি মুসলমান; ) are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising about two-thirds of the global Bengali population, they are the sec ...

family in

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 ...

(now

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

). His family is originally from the village of Prabhakarpur,

Patli Union Patli Union Parishad ( bn, পাটলী ইউনিয়ন পরিষদ) is a union parishad under Jagannathpur Upazila of Sunamganj District in the division of Sylhet, Bangladesh. It has an area of 32.52 square kilometres and a populati ...

, Jagannathpur,

Sunamganj Sunamganj ( bn, সুনামগঞ্জ) is a town in the Sylhet Division of northeastern Bangladesh. It is the administrative headquarters and largest town of Sunamganj District. It is located on the banks of the Surma River, approximately ...

, and moved to the United Kingdom when he was young.

Education

Choudhury followed an unusual route into the

Diplomatic Service Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtains diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to ...

; in 1985, he attained a

BSc A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

Electrical and Electronic Engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

from the

University of Salford , caption = Coat of ArmsUniversity of Salford , mottoeng = "Let us seek higher things" , established = 1850 - Pendleton Mechanics Institute 1896 – Royal Technical Institute, Salford 1967 – gained ...

. He worked at

Siemens Plessey Siemens Plessey was the name given to the Plessey assets acquired by Siemens in 1989. Today most of these units are part of BAE Systems while some units are now part of EADS. History Background : before 1989 The history of the evolution of Sieme ...

, before entering the Civil Service as an engineering strategist with the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

. In 1995, he graduated with a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

from

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...

Career

Choudhury was promoted through the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

until 2000, when he was recruited by the

Cabinet Office The Cabinet Office is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for supporting the prime minister and Cabinet. It is composed of various units that support Cabinet committees and which co-ordinate the delivery of government objecti ...

, before being headhunted for the position of High Commissioner to Bangladesh. He was succeeded in 2008 by Stephen Evans. When he was appointed as High Commissioner to Bangladesh in 2004, he became one of the first two British ambassadors from

ethnic minority The term 'minority group' has different usages depending on the context. According to its common usage, a minority group can simply be understood in terms of demographic sizes within a population: i.e. a group in society with the least number o ...

backgrounds to be appointed in modern times (the other being Alp Mehmet, who was appointed Ambassador to Iceland). He was sworn in as

on 26 March 2018.

Grenade attack

On 21 May 2004, Choudhury was targeted in a failed

grenade A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade genera ...

attack, in which he was wounded and two bystanders were killed. The attempted assassination came as he was leaving the Dargah-e-Shah Jalal mosque in

Sylhet Division Sylhet Division ( bn, সিলেট বিভাগ) is the northeastern division of Bangladesh. It is bordered by the Indian states of Meghalaya, Assam and Tripura to the north, east and south respectively, and by the Bangladeshi divisions of ...

, his home province, following

Jumu'ah In Islam, Friday prayer or Congregational prayer ( ar, صَلَاة ٱلْجُمُعَة, ') is a prayer ('' ṣalāt'') that Muslims hold every Friday, after noon instead of the Zuhr prayer. Muslims ordinarily pray five times each day according ...

(Friday prayers). In December 2008, three attackers were

sentenced to death Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

and two others to life in prison for the attack.

Recall to London

Choudhury was recalled to London in June 2018 for multiple allegations of misconduct. On 20 September 2018 it was announced that he would not be returning to the Cayman Islands.

Personal life

Choudhury is a

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

. His main interests include folk music of Bengal (

baul The Baul ( bn, বাউল) are a group of mystic minstrels of mixed elements of Sufism, Vaishnavism and Tantra from Bangladesh and the neighboring Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura and Assam's Barak Valley and Meghalaya. Bauls constitut ...

). He is also passionate about community integration and protection of the UK abroad. He is married to Momina Choudhury and has three daughters. He also has a son from his first marriage. He has three brothers. His hobbies include playing

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

and

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

. He has interest in

Bangladeshi cuisine Bangladeshi cuisine ( bn, বাংলাদেশের রান্না) is the national cuisine of Bangladesh. Bangladeshi cuisine has been shaped by the diverse history and river-line geography of Bangladesh. The country has a tropical mo ...

too. Choudhury has dismissed suggestions of a conflict of loyalty, stating that he would support the

English cricket team The England cricket team represents England and Wales in international cricket. Since 1997, it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club (the MCC) since 1903. Engla ...

against the one in Bangladesh.

References

External links

* *
Profile on UK Government Portal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Choudhury, Anwar 1959 births Living people Bangladeshi Muslims British Muslims Bangladeshi emigrants to England Governors of the Cayman Islands British people of Bangladeshi descent Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom High Commissioners of the United Kingdom to Bangladesh Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Peru Civil servants in the Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom) Civil servants in the Cabinet Office People from Aylesbury Alumni of Durham University Alumni of the University of Salford People from Patli Union