Dipu Moni (born 8 December 1965) is a Bangladeshi politician, and has been the
Minister of Education of Bangladesh since January 2019 and a
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
representing the
Chandpur-3 constituency. She was
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 ...
from 2009 to 2013. She was appointed the first female
Foreign Minister
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...
on 6 January 2009 after victory for the Awami League-led Grand Alliance on 29 December 2008.
Early life
Moni is a daughter of
MA Wadud
MA Wadud (August 1, 1925 – August 28, 1983) was a Bangladeshi language activist and politician. He was one of the founding members of Awami Muslim League (later Bangladesh Awami League). He was awarded Ekushey Padak in 2013 posthumously by th ...
who was a founding member of the
Bangladesh Awami League
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 ...
and known especially for his role in the
Language Movement and as the first Council-elected General Secretary of the East Pakistan Chhatra League. Moni passed HSC from
Holy Cross College, Dhaka
Holy Cross College (HCC) ( bn, হলি ক্রস কলেজ) is a Catholic higher-secondary school for girls, located at Tejgaon in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It serves students of class 11 and class 12. It was founded in 1950 by the Sisters of ...
.
Moni studied
MBBS
Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery ( la, Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae; abbreviated most commonly MBBS), is the primary medical degree awarded by medical schools in countries that follow the tradition of the United King ...
at
Dhaka Medical College and Hospital
Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (abbreviated DMCH) is a public medical college and hospital located in Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh. It houses medical school as well as a tertiary care hospital on one campus.
The country's first ev ...
and
LLB
Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the China, People's Republic ...
at
Bangladesh National University
The National University of Bangladesh ( bn, জাতীয় বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়, বাংলাদেশ ) is a public university of Bangladesh that was established by an Act of Parliament as an affiliating University ...
. She later earned Master of Public Health at
Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, and earned
Master of Laws
A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...
at the
University of London
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
as an external student. She had completed a course on Negotiations and Conflict Resolutions from
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
. She is a lawyer of
Bangladesh Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Bangladesh ( bn, বাংলাদেশ সুপ্রীম কোর্ট) is the highest court of law in Bangladesh. It is composed of the High Court Division and the Appellate Division, and was created by Part VI C ...
.
Political career
![Hillarydipumoni](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b0/Hillarydipumoni.jpg)
Moni was the Secretary for Women's Affairs and a Member of the Sub‐Committee on Foreign Affairs of the
Bangladesh Awami League
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 ...
before her induction to the cabinet.
She represented
Chandpur‐3 as a Member of Bangladesh Parliament. She worked for women's rights and entitlements, health legislation, health policy and management, health financing, strategic planning, and health and human rights under the Constitution and law in Bangladesh's economic and social development programmes and foreign policy issues of the region and globally. As a
Minister of Foreign Affairs
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...
she has represented her government's position to the Cabinet Ministers and public representatives of Asia, Europe and the US, Ambassadors and Senior Representatives of International Institutions. As the foreign minister she sought an apology for the
1971 Bangladesh Genocide
The genocide in Bangladesh began on 25 March 1971 with the launch of Operation Searchlight, as the government of Pakistan, dominated by West Pakistan, began a military crackdown on East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) to suppress Bengali peopl ...
from Pakistan. She also tried to bring the absconding killers of president
Sheikh Mujib
Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates a chief of a ...
. She is the present
Awami League In Urdu language, Awami is the adjectival form for '' Awam'', the Urdu language word for common people.
The adjective appears in the following proper names:
*Awami Colony, a neighbourhood of Landhi Town in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan
*Awami Front, wa ...
Joint General Secretary. She was elected chairman of
Asian University for Women
Asian University for Women (AUW) is an independent, international university in Chittagong, Bangladesh seeking to educate a new generation of leaders in Asia. AUW admits students solely on the basis of merit, regardless of their family's incom ...
in 2016. She is the chairperson of the parliamentary committee on foreign affairs.
Criticisms
As the minister of foreign affairs, Moni was widely criticized by different news media because of her frequent overseas visits. According to some news reports, she made 187 foreign trips and 600 days of overseas stay in four and a half years.
In response, Moni said she went abroad every time with the consent of the prime minister, who gave her approval after studying the pros and cons of every visit. She made 114 foreign tours, including 36 with the president and the prime minister and claimed that the number of her bilateral visits was 62, not 17 as reported.
Personal life
Moni is married to
Tawfique Nawaz,
an Oxbridge educated senior advocate of the Bangladesh Supreme court.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moni, Dipu
1965 births
Living people
People from Chandpur District
Holy Cross College, Dhaka alumni
Alumni of University of London Worldwide
National University, Bangladesh alumni
Dhaka Medical College alumni
Johns Hopkins University alumni
Alumni of the University of London
Awami League politicians
Women members of the Jatiya Sangsad
Women government ministers of Bangladesh
Foreign ministers of Bangladesh
Female foreign ministers
10th Jatiya Sangsad members
Bangladeshi women diplomats
11th Jatiya Sangsad members
Education ministers of Bangladesh
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman family
Bangladeshi physicians
Bangladeshi women lawyers
20th-century Bangladeshi lawyers
21st-century Bangladeshi women politicians