Muhammad Shamsul Huq ( bn, মুহাম্মদ শামসুল হক; 12 October 1912 – 23 February 2006) was a Bangladeshi academic and minister. He served as an education minister in erstwhile

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the 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 and Myanmar, wi ...

, and became the

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...

four years after the independence of Bangladesh. Huq also served as

vice-chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor ...

in both the

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

University of Rajshahi The University of Rajshahi, also known as Rajshahi University or RU ( bn, রাজশাহী বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়), is a public co-educational research university in Bangladesh situated near the northern Bangladeshi cit ...

. He was awarded the ''

Ekushey Padak Ekushey Padak ( bn, একুশে পদক; lit. "Twentyfirst Award") is the second highest civilian award in Bangladesh, introduced in memory of the martyrs of the Bengali Language Movement of 1952. The award is given to recognize contribut ...

'' in 2003 by the

Government of Bangladesh The Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh ( bn, গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশ সরকার — ) is the central executive government of Bangladesh. The government was constituted by the Co ...

Early life and education

Huq was born on 12 October 1912 to a

Bengali Muslim Bengali Muslims ( bn, বাঙালি মুসলমান; ) are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising about two-thirds of the global Bengali population, they are the sec ...

parents Karimul Huq and Mahmuda Khatun in the village of Pashchimgaon in Laksam, Tipperah District, Bengal Province. In 1927, he passed his matriculation exam from the local Faizunnisa-Badrunnisa High School in Paschimgaon. He completed his

Intermediate of Arts Intermediate Arts (IA) is an academic diploma awarded by a high school or junior college after the completion of 12th grade or equivalent in some countries like India and Nepal. However, as for Nepal, the usage of IA, ISc, and the like has become ...

from Feni College in 1929. Huq earned his bachelor's in Political Economy and Political Philosophy from the Islamia College of

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 ...

in 1931. He got his master's from the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a public collegiate state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered one of best state research university all over India every year, ...

in 1933. He also received training from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

from 1945 to 1946, under the Post-War Education Reforms Programme.

Career

He served as the third vice-chancellor of the

from 31 August 1965 to 4 August 1969. Huq then served the

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the four provinces, two autonomous territorie ...

under General

Yahya Khan General Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan , (Urdu: ; 4 February 1917 – 10 August 1980); commonly known as Yahya Khan, was a Pakistani military general who served as the third President of Pakistan and Chief Martial Law Administrator following his p ...

as a minister in the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology Research until the independence of Bangladesh. From 23 September 1975 to 1 February 1976, he served as the fifteenth vice-chancellor of the

. He became Bangladesh's fifth

in November 1975, serving this role until March 1982. From 1977 to 1978, Huq was a member of the

President of Bangladesh The president of Bangladesh ( bn, বাংলাদেশের রাষ্ট্রপতি — ) officially the President of the People's Republic of Bangladesh ( bn, গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশে ...

's advisory board. Along with President

Ziaur Rahman Lt. General Ziaur Rahman (19 January 1936 – 30 May 1981), was a Bangladeshi military officer and politician who served as the President of Bangladesh from 1977 to 1981. He was assassinated on 30 May 1981 in Chittagong in an army coup d ...

, he contributed to the formulation of the formation of the

South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is the regional intergovernmental organization and geopolitical union of states in South Asia. Its member states are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan ...

(SAARC) in 1980.

Works

* ''Charging Education in England'' (1948) * ''Compulsory Education in Pakistan'' (1954) * ''Education and Development Strategy in South and South East Asia'' (1965) * ''Pakistan's New Education Policy'' (1970) * ''Education Manpower and Development in South and South East Asia'' (1976) * "The Patterns of Education in South and South East Asia" in ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' (New Edition) * "Education in German Encyclopedia" ''Lexikon der Pedagogi'' (Verlag Herder) * ''Higher Education and Employment in Bangladesh'' (co-author, 1983) * ''South Asia Regional Co-operation: Its Underlying Concept, Problems and Promises in Future of South Asia'' (1985) * ''Role of Education in Development based on lectures delivered at the Bangla Academy'' (1987) * ''Bangladesh in International Politics: the Dilemmas of the Weak States'' (1993) * ''Aid, Development and Diplomacy'' (2001) * ''Bissho-rajniti o Bangladesh'' (2001) * ''Bikasman Somaj o Shikhka'' (1987)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huq, Muhammad Shamsul 1912 births 2006 deaths 20th-century Bengalis 21st-century Bengalis People from Comilla District Bangladeshi academics University of Calcutta alumni Vice-Chancellors of the University of Dhaka Vice-Chancellors of the University of Rajshahi Recipients of the Ekushey Padak Education Ministers of Pakistan Foreign ministers of Bangladesh Bangladesh Nationalist Party politicians