M. Hossain Ali was a Bangladeshi diplomat and former ambassador to the United States.

Early life

Ali was born in

Patharghata Patharghata ( bn, পাথরঘাটা উপজেলা) is an Upazila of Barguna District in the Division of Barisal, Bangladesh. Geography Patharghata is located at . It has 25,610 households and a total area of 387.36 km2. Dem ...

Bhangura Upazila Bhangura ( bn, ভাঙ্গুড়া) or Bhangoora is an upazila of Pabna District in the Division of Rajshahi, Bangladesh. History Bhangura thana was established in 1980 and was turned into an upazila in 1981. Once Bhangura upazila was a n ...

, Pabna District on 1 February 1923. In 1945 he graduated from

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 ...

with a bachelor's degree in chemistry. In 1948, he completed his LLB from

University of Karachi The University of Karachi ( sd, ; informally Karachi University, KU, or UoK) is a public research university located in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Established in June 1951 by an act of Parliament and as a successor to the University of Sindh (whic ...

in 1948. In 1949 he completed the Pakistan Civil Service examination and joined the foreign service. He studied further on foreign policy and diplomacy in Foreign Service Institute in Washington D.C. and in the British foreign office in London. He completed a diploma program in the Paris-based Institute of International Relations.

Career

Ali was posted in a number of different diplomatic posts including in Australia, Belgium, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Burma, United Kingdom and Netherlands. During the

Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War ( bn, মুক্তিযুদ্ধ, , also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh) was a revolution and War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Benga ...

in 1971, he was the Deputy High Commissioner at

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

, India for

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. He was transferred by the government to West Pakistan. On 18 April 1971, he refused to obey the orders and declared his allegiance to the Bangladesh government in exile. He was supported by 65 of his colleagues in the commission. The Pakistan High Commission in Kolkata was changed to the Bangladesh High Commission. The flag of Bangladesh was raised in the Embassy compound. It was just one day after the declaration of the People's Republic of Bangladesh at

Baidyanathtala Mujibnagar ( bn, মুজিবনগর), formerly known as Baidyanathtala (Boiddonathtola) and Bhoborpara, is a town in the Mujibnagar Upazila of Bangladesh. The Provisional Government of Bangladesh was formed on 10 April 1971, however, swo ...

. First Secretary

Rafiqul Islam Chowdhury Rafiqul Islam Chowdhury (died 14 October 2008) was a Bangladesh academic and political scientist. He served as the 9th vice-chancellor of the University of Chittagong The University of Chittagong ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম বিশ� ...

, third Secretary

Anwarul Karim Chowdhury Anwarul Karim Chowdhury ( bn, আনোয়ারুল করিম চৌধুরী; born 5 February 1943) is a Bangladeshi diplomat most noted for his work on development in the poorest nations, global peace and championing the rights o ...

and Assistant Press Attaché Moqshed Ali were also present in that ceremony and were negotiating with other nations for support of Bangladeshi independence. The role of Ali is very important, as he pioneered the way for other expatriate Bengali diplomats to pledge their allegiance to the new Bangladesh Government. Ali was then named Chief of Mission at Calcutta for Bangladesh. Following this lead, Bengali diplomats defected to the new government at the missions in New York, Washington, D.C., London, Baghdad, Manila, Kathmandu, Buenos Aires, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Lagos and Bern. In 1972, Ali was appointed the first High Commissioner in Australia for Bangladesh and later served as the first Bangladeshi Ambassador to the United States. He served as the ambassador of Bangladesh to West Germany from 1976 to 1979. He was then appointed the ambassador of Bangladesh to Canada.

Death and legacy

Ali died on 2 January 1981 in Canada.

Early life

Career

Death and legacy

References

Further reading