Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad is a retired Bangladeshi civil servant and former

Chief Election Commissioner of Bangladesh The Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) ( bn, বাংলাদেশের প্রধান নির্বাচন কমিশনার) heads the Election Commission of Bangladesh, a body constitutionally empowered to conduct free and fai ...

Early life

A veteran freedom fighter, Ahmad was born in Jessore on 2 December 1943.

Education

Ahmad studied chemistry at

University of Dhaka The University of Dhaka (also known as Dhaka University, or DU) is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is the oldest university in Bangladesh. The university opened its doors to students on July 1st 1921. Currently i ...

and secured first class second position in the MSc examination. In 1966 he joined the chemistry department of Dhaka University as a lecturer. The next year he joined the Civil Service of Pakistan (CSP) as an officer. Ahmad completed his MBA from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with ...

, and received professional training at

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 high ...

. As a Research Fellow in Harvard University Centre for Population Studies, he worked on Population and Resource development. He completed Investment Negotiation Course at the Law Center of the Institute of International and Foreign Trade Law,

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

, USA.

Career

During the Bangladesh Liberation war in 1971, Ahmad served in the Mujibnagar government as Sub Divisional Officer, Brahmanbaria and was Deputy Secretary and Zonal Administrative Officer under the First Bangladesh Government in Mujibnagar. During the war he served as a zonal coordinating officer of the freedom fighters who took shelter in Agartala, India. After the Independence of Bangladesh, he joined the Bangladeshi civil service. Ahmad served as the Deputy Commissioner and District Magistrate of

Cumilla district Comilla District, officially known as Cumilla District, is a district of Bangladesh located about 100 kilometres south east of Dhaka. Comilla is bordered by Brahmanbaria and Narayanganj districts to the north, Noakhali and Feni districts to t ...

, Director General of NGO Affairs Bureau, Chairman of

Trading Corporation of Bangladesh Trading Corporation Of Bangladesh (TCB) () is a wing of the Commerce Ministry of Bangladesh to deal with different trades and businesses. Currently the chairman of TCB is Brigadier General Md. Ariful Hassan, PSC. Mission The main mission of TCB ...

and Chairman of

Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) is a government owned corporation in Bangladesh. Shah Md. Imdadul Haque is the chairman of Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation. History Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation was f ...

. He served as Secretary, Ministry of Primary and Mass Education, Secretary, Ministry of Information and Secretary, Ministry of Education and Secretary to the Bangladesh Parliament (

Jatiya Sangshad The Jatiya Sangsad ( bn, জাতীয় সংসদ, lit=National Parliament, translit=Jatiyô Sôngsôd), often referred to simply as the ''Sangsad'' or JS and also known as the House of the Nation, is the supreme legislative body of ...

). He retired from Government service in 2003 after 36 years of service. Ahmad was appointed the

on 9 February 2012. Ahmad presided over the 5 January 2014 general elections in Bangladesh, which was boycotted by the main opposition

Bangladesh Nationalist Party The Bangladesh Nationalist Party ( bn, বাংলাদেশ জাতীয়তাবাদী দল, Bangladesh Jātīyotābādī Dol; BNP) is a centre-right to right-wing nationalist, political party in Bangladesh and one of the major ...

. He oversaw the 2016 countrywide Zila Parishad election. Under Ahmad's leadership, the Election Commission (EC) launched the distribution of machine-readable smart national identity (NID) cards among 10 crore citizens, replacing the existing paper-laminated cards and updated the voter list. Ahmad's term as the Chief Election Commissioner ended on 9 February 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahmad, Kazi Rakibuddin Living people Chief Election Commissioners of Bangladesh 1943 births Boston University School of Management alumni University of Dhaka alumni People from Chuadanga District Bangladeshi civil servants Faujdarhat Cadet College alumni Harvard University alumni Bangladeshi expatriates in the United States