Mohammad Abdul Hamid (born 1 January 1944) is a

Bangladeshi Bangladeshis ( bn, বাংলাদেশী ) are the citizens of Bangladesh, a South Asian country centered on the transnational historical region of Bengal along the eponymous bay. Bangladeshi citizenship was formed in 1971, when the ...

politician who is currently serving as the president of Bangladesh. He was elected to his first term in April 2013, and re-elected to his current second term in 2018. Previously he served as the speaker of the National Parliament from January 2009 to April 2013. He was the acting president after the death of

Zillur Rahman Mohammed Zillur Rahman (9 March 1929 – 20 March 2013) was the President of Bangladesh from 2009 to 2013. He was also a senior presidium member of the Awami League. He is the third president of Bangladesh, after Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Ziau ...

in March 2013, and he was elected as president on 22 April 2013. He currently holds the record of the longest serving president in the history of Bangladesh.

Early life and education

Hamid was born in Kamalpur village,

Mithamain Upazila Mithamoin ( bn, মিঠামইন, Mithamoin) is an upazila (subdistrict) of Kishoreganj District in northern Bangladesh, located in the Dhaka Division. It is best known as the home upazila of Abdul Hamid, the current President of Bangladesh. ...

under Kishoreganj District to Mohammad Tayebuddin and Tomiza Khatun. He started his early education in the village primary school. After finishing primary education, he went to his relative's house in Bhairabpur and joined Bhairab K.B. Pilot High School for secondary education. Hamid passed I.A. and B.A. from

Gurudayal Government College Gurudayal Government College or Gurudayal College ( bn, গুরুদয়াল সরকারি মহাবিদ্যালয়) is a public tertiary higher education institution. It is affiliated to the National University in Banglad ...

in Kishoreganj. He obtained the degree of LL.B. from Central Law College which is now affiliated with

Dhaka University 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 ...

. He then joined Kishoregonj Bar as an advocate. He was President of the Kishoregonj District Bar Association 5 times during 1990–96.

Political career

Hamid joined

Chhatra League The Bangladesh Chhatra League ( bn, বাংলাদেশ ছাত্রলীগ; translation: Bangladesh Students' League; BSL), formerly known as the East Pakistan Student League, often simply called the Chhatra League, is a students' po ...

in 1959 whilst a student in Kishoreganj, as the vice-president of Gurudayal Government College. He was also elected the vice-president of the Chhatra League of Mymensingh District Unit in 1966–67. At the end of 1969, he joined the

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 ...

. In the 1970 Pakistan general election, Hamid was elected as the Member of Parliament for the Mymensingh-18 constituency; he was the youngest person elected. In the general elections of 1973, 1986, 1991, 1996, 2001, and 2009 he was elected as Member of Parliament for Kishoreganj-5 constituency as a nominee of the Awami League. He was the Deputy Speaker of the National Parliament of Bangladesh when an Awami League government was in office from 1996 to 2001. On 25 January 2009, he became the Speaker of the National Parliament. For his contribution to 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 awarded the Independence Day Award in 2013.

Presidency

Hamid was appointed acting President of Bangladesh on 14 March 2013, while President

was in hospital in Singapore. Zillur Rahman died six days later. Later Hamid was elected unopposed as president on 22 April 2013. He was sworn into office on 24 April. On 7 February 2018, he was re-elected unopposed for a second term. Hamid suggested that a United Nations-administered humanitarian corridor be established in

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

for the Rohingya Muslims.

Personal life

Hamid has been married to

Rashida Hamid Rashida Hamid is a Bangladeshi teacher, public figure, and First Lady of Bangladesh. She is the wife of the President Abdul Hamid. She has been serving as a country's First Lady since 14 March 2013. Early life Rashida Hamid was born in Jaffarab ...

since 1964. Together they have three sons and one daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamid, Mohammad Abdul 1944 births Living people People from Kishoreganj District University of Dhaka alumni Awami League politicians Recipients of the Independence Day Award Deputy Speakers of the Jatiya Sangsad Speakers of the Jatiya Sangsad 8th Jatiya Sangsad members Presidents of Bangladesh