Faruq Ahmed Choudhury (4 January 1934 – 17 May 2017) was a Bangladeshi

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

. He served as Bangladesh's first Chief of Protocol beginning in 1972,

Foreign Secretary The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Seen as ...

from 1984 to 1986, and High Commissioner to India from 1986 to 1992.

Career

Early life and career

Choudhury was born in Karimganj, Assam, British India, on January 4, 1934. In 1956, Choudhury entered the Foreign Service of Pakistan as a diplomat (Bangladesh, then known as East Pakistan, was part of the country at the time). He held several appointments within the Foreign Office and several Parkistani embassies.

Bangladesh foreign service

In 1972, Choudhury was appointed as Bangladesh's first Chief of Protocol, within the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

, following the country's independence from Pakistan. From 1972 until 1976, Choudhury served as the Deputy High Commissioner of Bangladesh to the United Kingdom, where he took part in the negotiations for Bangladesh's entry in to the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

in 1972. Choudhury was next appointed as Bangladesh's

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

to Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates from 1976 to 1978. He then served as Ambassador accredited to both the

European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisb ...

(EEC) and the Benelux nations - Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands - from 1978 until 1982. Choudhury returned to the home office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1982. He was the chief coordinator for the 13th OIC Foreign Ministers' Meeting, which was held in 1983 in Dhaka. He then held the post of Additional Foreign Secretary from 1983 to 1984. Faruq Choudhury was appointed

, the highest ranking non-political official with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, from 1984 to 1986. Choudhury next served as High Commissioner of Bangladesh to India from 1986 until his retirement in 1992. Choudhury retired from Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1992. He wrote several books and focused on social causes during his retirement. He served on the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), the world's largest non-governmental development organization, from 1992 until 2006. In 2014, Choudhury was awarded the IFIC Bank Literature Award for his writings on social and political issues. He also received the

Bangla Academy Literary Award The Bangla Academy Literary Award ( bn, বাংলা একাডেমি সাহিত্য পুরস্কার; ''Bangla Academy Shahitya Puroshkar''), is given by the Bangla Academy of Bangladesh in recognition of creative genius i ...

in 2016.

Bibliography

Some of his Books are given below- 1. Jiboner Balukabelay (Autobiography) 2. Priyo Farjana 3. Biponno Prithibi (Science Friction) 4. Shorone Bangobondhu(Incidents & Memories with Sheikh Mujibur Rahman) 5. Ghotokal Shomokal 6. Janalay Nana Chobi 7. Shomoyer Aborte And many more. He wrote his Memories with Bangabondhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on his books.

Death

Choudhury died at Square Hospital in Dhaka on May 17, 2017, at the age of 84.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Choudhury, Faruq Ahmed 1934 births 2017 deaths Bangladeshi diplomats Foreign Secretaries of Bangladesh High Commissioners of Bangladesh to India Ambassadors of Bangladesh to Bahrain Ambassadors of Bangladesh to the United Arab Emirates Ambassadors of Bangladesh to Belgium Ambassadors of Bangladesh to Luxembourg Ambassadors of Bangladesh to the Netherlands Bangladeshi non-fiction writers Recipients of Bangla Academy Award 20th-century Bengalis 21st-century Bengalis People from Karimganj district