Anwarul Iqbal (1 October 1950 – 15 January 2015) was an adviser of 2007–2009 interim
caretaker government
A caretaker government is a temporary ''ad hoc'' government that performs some governmental duties and functions in a country until a regular government is elected or formed. Depending on specific practice, it usually consists of either randomly se ...
of
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 ...
. He was appointed as Local Government and Rural Development Minister & Labour Minister of the non-party interim caretaker government of Bangladesh on 17 January 2007 and remained in that post until elections were held two years later. Later he was given the charge of the Jute & Textile Ministry. He had the responsibility to head three ministries of the government of Bangladesh. He served as the 25th Inspector General of
Bangladesh police
The Bangladesh Police ( bn, বাংলাদেশ পুলিশ) of the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a law enforcement agency, operating under the Ministry of Home Affairs. It plays a crucial role in maintaining peace, and enforcement ...
. He went into voluntary retirement from the IGP post after he had been made officer on special duty and within few days he took charge as the adviser of the caretaker government headed by
Fakhruddin Ahmed
Fakhruddin Ahmed (born 1 May 1940) is a Bangladeshi economist, civil servant, and a former governor of the Bangladesh Bank, the country's central bank.
On 12 January 2007, he was appointed Chief Adviser (Head of the Government) of the non-p ...
during the state of emergency in Bangladesh which was declared on 11 January 2007.
Early life
Iqbal was born in
Feni in the then
East Bengal
ur,
, common_name = East Bengal
, status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan
, p1 = Bengal Presidency
, flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg
, s1 = East ...
. He was the son of Mohammed Islam, a government officer. He passed his Secondary School Certificate (SSC) in 1965 from Memnagar BD High School in Chuadanga, Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSC) from
Dhaka College
Dhaka College ( bn, ঢাকা কলেজ also known as DC) is the oldest secular educational institution of Bangladesh located in Dhaka. It offers higher secondary education ( HSC). It has Honours and Masters programs as well which are aff ...
in 1967 and Masters of Arts in Bengali literature from
University of Chittagong
The University of Chittagong ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়, caṭṭagram bishwabidyalay) is a public research university with multidisciplinary faculties situated across a 1754-acres hilly landmas ...
in 1969–1971. He took part in the Liberation War of 1971. Later he was trained at the Bramshill Police Staff College, United Kingdom and the Human Rights Centre at
Geneva
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
,
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
.
Career
Bangladesh Police
Iqbal joined
Bangladesh Police
The Bangladesh Police ( bn, বাংলাদেশ পুলিশ) of the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a law enforcement agency, operating under the Ministry of Home Affairs. It plays a crucial role in maintaining peace, and enforcement ...
on 22 August 1973 as assistant superintendent of police. He was one of the earliest officers recruited to the Bangladesh police after independence. He served as the chief of most of the units in Bangladesh Police Force which includes police headquarters, the
Criminal Investigation Department
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is the branch of a police force to which most plainclothes detectives belong in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth nations. A force's CID is distinct from its Special Branch (though officers of b ...
, the
Special Branch
Special Branch is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security and Intelligence (information gathering), intelligence in Policing in the United Kingdom, British, Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, ...
,
Dhaka Metropolitan Police
The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) is the unit of Bangladesh Police responsible for law enforcement in the metropolis of Dhaka, the national capital and most populous city in Bangladesh. The DMP is the largest police force unit in Bangladesh. A ...
,
Rapid Action Battalion
Rapid Action Battalion or RAB, is an anti-crime and anti-terrorism unit of the Bangladesh Police. This elite force consists of members of the Bangladesh Army, Bangladesh Police, Bangladesh Navy, Bangladesh Air Force, Border Guard Bangladesh, Ba ...
,
Chittagong Metropolitan Police
Chattogram Metropolitan Police (CMP), former Chittagong Metropolitan Police, is the chief law enforcement agency in Chattogram, the second largest city in Bangladesh. It was established in 1978 under the Chittagong Metropolitan Police Ordinance app ...
,
Khulna Metropolitan Police
Khulna Metropolitan Police (KMP), is a metropolitan police unit of Bangladesh Police for the Khulna Metropolitan Area based in Khulna City. The Unit was established on 1 July 1986 by the Khulna Metropolitan Police Ordinance, 1985.
Stations
Khuln ...
,
Detective Training School
Detective Training School (DTS) is maintained by Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Bangladesh Police. It is situated on of land at Rajarbag in Dhaka
Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the ...
,
Armed Police Battalion
The Armed Police Battalion is a specialised unit of the Bangladesh Police. It is headquartered in Dhaka.
History
The Armed Police Battalion was formed on 1 October 1975 as a specialized force of the Bangladesh Police through The Armed Police Batta ...
and Sylhet,
Kushtia
Kushtia ( bn, কুষ্টিয়া) is a city in the Khulna Division of southwestern Bangladesh. Kushtia is the second largest municipality in Bangladesh and the eleventh largest city in the country. The second largest city in Khulna div ...
,
Khulna
Khulna ( bn, খুলনা, ) is the third-largest city in Bangladesh, after Dhaka and Chittagong. It is the administrative centre of Khulna District and Khulna Division. Khulna's economy is the third-largest in Bangladesh, contributing $53 b ...
and
Chittagong
Chittagong ( /ˈtʃɪt əˌɡɒŋ/ ''chit-uh-gong''; ctg, চিটাং; bn, চিটাগং), officially Chattogram ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম), is the second-largest city in Bangladesh after Dhaka and third largest city in B ...
districts and
Magura,
Kishorganj
Kishoreganj ( bn, কিশোরগঞ্জ) is a district in Dhaka Division, Bangladesh. Earlier it was a Mohkuma (মহকুমা) under the Mymensingh district. It was taken 2495.07 sq. km of land from Mymensingh district to form prese ...
and Bagerhat sub-divisions. For his contribution to the service and the nation he was given a gallantry award, the President Police Medal, in 1980, and Bangladesh Police Medal in 2000 and 2002.
On 6 July 2006, Iqbal became the 25th Inspector General of Police (IGP). On 15 January 2007 he took voluntary retirement from service just a day before his sworn-in as an Advisor.
United nations
Iqbal played a significant role in the UN mission at
Mozambique
Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
(ONUMOZ) and
Angola
, national_anthem = " Angola Avante"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capital = Luanda
, religion =
, religion_year = 2020
, religion_ref =
, coordina ...
(UNAVEM III). In 1993–1994, he was civilian police chief and acting commissioner in the Mozambique mission ONUMOZ. He won repute as police commissioner at the UN peacekeeping mission at Angola. He remained in that post during the whole period of UNAVEM III. He was the first Asian to serve as civilian police chief in any United Nations peacekeeping mission.
Director General of Rapid Action Battalion
Being the founding director general of the force
Rapid Action Battalion
Rapid Action Battalion or RAB, is an anti-crime and anti-terrorism unit of the Bangladesh Police. This elite force consists of members of the Bangladesh Army, Bangladesh Police, Bangladesh Navy, Bangladesh Air Force, Border Guard Bangladesh, Ba ...
,
Interim Government 2007–2009
Iqbal sworn-in as adviser which is equivalent to a cabinet minister of the non-party care-taker government on 17 January 2007 by the President of Bangladesh Dr.
Iajuddin Ahmed
Iajuddin Ahmed (1 February 193110 December 2012) was the President of Bangladesh, serving from 6 September 2002 until 12 February 2009. From late October 2006 to January 2007, he also served as Chief Advisor of the caretaker government. From Oc ...
. He was given the charge of two ministries, one being the Local Government and Rural Development and Co-operative and the other Labour and Employment Ministry.
In the short span of time Iqbal established the Local Government Commission to ensure accountability and transparency, amended the acts of Upazila Parishad, Union Council, Municipal Council and City Corporations for women empowerment and ensuring Governance friendly persons' participation in Local Level election.
During his tenure, government successfully held the Elections to the local government bodies including city corporations, municipalities, union council and specially long due elections to upazila parishads which had not been held for the last 17 years during the tenure of previous political governments. With the intention of decentralizing, and devolving the authority to local governments, he emphasised the election of honest, dedicated and capable representatives to ensure good governance, and build up a just, equitable and enlightened society.
As the adviser of Labour and Employment ministry, he managed to set a standard of labour wages, benefits like service book, holidays, ID cards etc. and constant effort on implementation of minimum wages in all the factories throughout the country improved the Compliance situation up to mention able level in the garment sector of Bangladesh. This ultimately improved the labour rights situation in the country and concludes an era of labour violence in the sector. Ready Made Garments (RMG) sector is the highest foreign currency earner for Bangladesh. He also led the way to finalise the new Labour Law in Bangladesh and successfully eradicated Child Labour from hazardous work
The other ministry he headed was Ministry of Jute and Textiles. One of the major achievements of Iqbal's time is reopening a number of major jute mills of Bangladesh which were closed down to lessen losses of government.
Death
Iqbal died from a cardiac arrest, suffered while working out at his daughter's home in
Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
,
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
on 15 January 2015.
He was married to Dora Anwar. Together they had two daughters, Fahbin Anwar and Tasnim Anwar.
[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iqbal, Anwarul
1950 births
2015 deaths
People from Feni District
Dhaka College alumni
Inspectors General of Police (Bangladesh)
Advisors of Caretaker Government of Bangladesh