Mirza Azam (born 13 September 1962) is a Bangladeshi politician and Organizing Secretary of Bangladesh Awami League . He has been elected

Member of Parliament (Bangladesh) A Member of Parliament (MP) in Bangladesh is a member of the unicameral Jatiya Sangsad or House of the Nation. A majority of members are elected directly in general elections, while a minority of seats are reserved exclusively for women and all ...

six times and has served as State Minister for Textiles and Jute. He was President of Bangladesh Jubo League

Early life

Azam was born on 13 September 1962 at Sukhnagari village, Madarganj Upazila,

Jamalpur District Jamalpur ( bn, জামালপুর জেলা, ''Jamalpur Jela'' also ''Jamalpur Zila'') is a district in Bangladesh, part of the Mymensingh Division. It was established in 1978. Geography Jamalpur occupies 2031.98 km2. It is locat ...

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India ...

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 ...

. His mother was Mosammat Nurunnahar Begum. He was a well-known figure of student politics in Jamalpur.

Career

Azam started his political career from student life in 1977. He was an Amusement and Entertainment Secretary of the Student union of Government Ashek Mahmud College in 1979. In 1981, he was elected vice-president of

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 ...

unit. In 1991, he was elected as the President of Jubo League and Joint-General Secretary of Awami League, Jamalpur District Branch. He was elected to Parliament from Jamalpur-3 in 1991 as a candidate of Awami League. He received 39,907 votes while his nearest rival of Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Shah Md. Khairul Bashar Chishti, received 31,032 votes. Azam was re-elected to Parliament from Jamalpur-3 in 1996 as a candidate of Awami League. In 1996, he was elected as the

General Secretary of Bangladesh Awami League The General Secretary of Bangladesh Awami League is the executive person of this political organization of Bangladesh. He gave orders or advice for all departmental functions as the secretary of the organization. He took care of all matters, from ...

of Jamalpur District Branch. He served as the General Secretary of Bangladesh Awami Jubo League of the Central Executive Committee from 2003 to 2012. In January 2004, he was injured while on a protest by Bangladesh Police personnel. In June 2004, a bus in Shahbagh was burned down killing 11 after which police charged Azam, Jahangir Kabir Nanak and nine others. The charges were dropped in 2013 as the

Criminal Investigation Department The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is the branch of a police force to which most plainclothes detectives belong in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth nations. A force's CID is distinct from its Special Branch (though officers of b ...

did not find evidence of their involvement. Azam was re-elected to Parliament from Jamalpur-3 in 2001 as a candidate of Awami League. He was the Whip of Opposition Party in the 8th Bangladesh National Parliament. In 2007, Rapid Action Battalion sued Azam for selling his Lexus, imported duty free due to member of parliament privileges, illegally using forged papers to Shawkat Ali director of Metro Spinning Limited. In November an arrest warrant was issued against Azam. In December, Judge Mohammad Azizul Haque ordered property of Azam to be seized. Anti-Corruption Commission sued him in another case over 5.3 million in unexplained wealth on 8 July 2008 with the Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's . In July 2008, he was sent to jail after surrendering to Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court. Azam was re-elected to Parliament from Jamalpur-3 in 2008 as a candidate of Awami League against Mostafizur Rahman Babul of Bangladesh Nationalist Party. He was the Whip of Ruling Party of the 9th Bangladesh National Parliament. In February 2009, during the

Bangladesh Rifles revolt The Bangladesh Rifles revolt (also referred to as the Pilkhana tragedy) was a mutiny staged on 25 and 26 February 2009 in Dhaka by a section of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), a paramilitary force mainly tasked with guarding the borders of Bangla ...

he visited the

Bangladesh Rifles Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) are a paramilitary force responsible for the border security of Bangladesh. The force is known as "The Vigilant Sentinels of the National Frontier". The BGB is entrusted with the responsibility to defend the borde ...

headguards with Jahangir Kabir Nanak to negotiate with the rebels on behalf of the government. Azam was re-elected to Parliament from Jamalpur-3 in 2014 unopposed after the election was boycotted by the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party. He has taken oath as the State Minister of Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh on 12 January 2014. He has taken on his duties in the Ministry of Textiles and Jute on 13 January 2014. Azam was re-elected in 2018 from Jamalpur-3 as a candidate of the Awami League. He received 385,113 votes while his nearest rival, Md Mostafizur Rahman Babul of Bangladesh Nationalist Party received 4,677 votes. Azam has established around fifty educational institutions. Among these are Bangamata Sheikh Fojilatunnesa Mujib Science and Technology University, Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib Fisheries College, Bangabandhu College, Sheikh Kamal College, Khaja Shah Sufi Younus Ali College, Aleya Azam College, Mirza Azam Degree College, Nurunnaha Mirza Kasem Mohila Degree College, Abdul Jalil Technical College, are the renowned ones.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Azam, Mirza 1962 births Living people People from Jamalpur District Politicians from Mymensingh Division Awami League politicians State Ministers of Textiles and Jute (Bangladesh) 5th Jatiya Sangsad members 7th Jatiya Sangsad members 8th Jatiya Sangsad members 9th Jatiya Sangsad members 11th Jatiya Sangsad members 10th Jatiya Sangsad members