Air Marshal (retd.) Jamal Uddin Ahmed is a former
Chief of Air Staff, the highest appointment in the
Bangladesh Air Force
The Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) ( bn, বাংলাদেশ বিমান বাহিনী, Bangladesh Biman Bahini) is the aerial warfare branch of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. The Air Force is primarily responsible for air defence of B ...
(BAF), and former Chairman of the Board of Directors of
Biman Bangladesh
Biman Bangladesh Airlines ( bn, বিমান বাংলাদেশ এয়ারলাইন্স) commonly known as Biman ( bn, বিমান), pronounced (), is the national flag carrier of Bangladesh. With its main hub at Hazra ...
. He was promoted to Air Marshal by then Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina
Sheikh Hasina Wazed (''née'' Sheikh Hasina ; ; bn, শেখ হাসিনা ওয়াজেদ, Shēkh Hasinā, , born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Prime Minister ...
on the day of his retirement from the BAF in 2001. Three years later, the
Khaleda Zia
Khaleda Zia (; born Khaleda Khanam Putul in 1945) is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh from March 1991 to March 1996, and again from June 2001 to October 2006. She was the first female prime minister of Ba ...
government voided his promotion, declaring it unlawful because there was no such post in the BAF's organizational chart. He appealed the decision to the
High Court, which in 2008 restored his rank of air marshal, ruling that he had been stripped of it illegally.
Career
He started his career as a
Martin B-57 Canberra
The Martin B-57 Canberra is an American-built, twin-engined tactical bomber and reconnaissance aircraft that entered service with the United States Air Force (USAF) in 1953. The B-57 is a license-built version of the British English Electric C ...
attack pilot in the
Pakistan Air Force
, "Be it deserts or seas; all lie under our wings" (traditional)
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in 1964. During the Liberation War in 1971, he was a
Flight Lieutenant
Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the India ...
and part of a joint NATO-CENTO
Air Intelligence
The Directorate General Air Intelligence, known as "Air Intelligence" and its acronym "AI", ( ur, ) is the intelligence arm of the Pakistan Air Force. It is headquartered in Islamabad, Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islami ...
Training Program for NATO Air Force officers in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. He returned to Bangladesh in 1972 as a
Squadron Leader
Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also ...
and served as a flight instructor at the Bangladesh Air Force Academy between 1976 and 1980. He was the
Chief of Air Staff from 4 June 1995 to 3 June 2001.
References
1943 births
Living people
Bangladesh Air Force air marshals
Chiefs of Air Staff (Bangladesh)
{{Bangladesh-mil-bio-stub