Muhammad Yusuf Ali (1923 – December 1998) was a

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

politician. He was the first minister for Education and Cultural Affairs in the first cabinet of Bangladesh.

Early life and education

Ali was born in Farakkabad, Biral,

Dinajpur Dinajpur ( bn, দিনাজপুর ) is a city and the District headquarters of Dinajpur district situated in Rangpur Division, Bangladesh. It was founded in 1786. It is located 413 km north-west of Dhaka in Bangladesh. It is bounde ...

in 1923. He matriculated in 1944 from Dinajpur Academy High School and intermediate exams from Ripon College. He got a Bachelor of Arts degree from

Surendranath College Surendranath College is an undergraduate college affiliated to the University of Calcutta, in Kolkata, India. It was founded in 1884 by the nationalist leader and scholar Surendranath Banerjee. The Women's section of the college was founded ...

and a Master of Arts degree from 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 ...

in 1953. He later earned a B.Law degree from

University of Rajshahi The University of Rajshahi, also known as Rajshahi University or RU ( bn, রাজশাহী বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়), is a Public university, public Mixed-sex education, co-educational research university in Bangladesh si ...

and joined the Dinajpur district bar.

Career

Ali was a professor of Nawabganj College and afterwards at Surendranath College. He joined awami league in 1960 and in 1962 was elected to the East Pakistan Legislative Assembly. In 1965 he was elected to the Pakistan Constituent Assembly. He was involved in a number of Bengali Nationalist movements including

Six point movement The six point movement was a movement in East Pakistan, spearheaded by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, which called for greater autonomy for East Pakistan. The movement's main agenda was to realize the six demands put forward by a coalition of Bengali na ...

Agartala Conspiracy Case The Agartala Conspiracy Case was a sedition case in Pakistan during the rule of Ayub Khan against Awami League, brought by the government of Pakistan in 1968 against Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the then leader of the Awami League and East Pakista ...

and

1969 uprising in East Pakistan The 1969 mass uprising in East Pakistan ( bn, ঊনসত্তরের গণঅভ্যুত্থান, lit=69’s Mass uprising) was a democratic political movement in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). The uprising consisted of a series of m ...

. He was elected to the national assembly of Pakistan. Ali moved to India during Bangladesh Liberation war. On 17 April 1971 he read declaration of independence of Bangladesh at the oath taking ceremony of

Mujibnagar Government The Provisional Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, popularly known as the Mujibnagar Government, was established following the declaration of independence of East Pakistan as Bangladesh on 10 April 1971. Headed by prime minis ...

. In the Mujibnagar Government he was the chairman of Youth Control Board. It recruited and trained personal for the Mukti Bahini. He was the first minister for Education and Cultural Affairs of Bangladesh,

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Sheikh Mujibur Rahman ( bn, শেখ মুজিবুর রহমান; 17 March 1920 – 15 August 1975), often shortened as Sheikh Mujib or Mujib and widely known as Bangabandhu (meaning ''Friend of Bengal''), was a Bengalis, Beng ...

cabinet. Ali was the speaker of ''Ganaporishad'' (provisional Parliament of Bangladesh) and he made oath of the acting president with ministers of provisional government. He was made the Chairman of Shromik League of

BAKSAL Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League (BaKSAL) ( bn, বাংলাদেশ কৃষক শ্রমিক আওয়ামী লীগ "Bangladesh Worker-Peasant's People's League"; বাকশাল) was a political front comprising B ...

(Bangladesh Krishok Shromik Awami League) by

, then president of Bangladesh. Ali was one of the founding members of the

Bangladesh Football Federation Bangladesh Football Federation (, ''Bānlādēśa phuṭabala phēḍārēśana'') is the governing body that administrates the sport of association football in Bangladesh. It is in charge of running the country's men's and women's national tea ...

, on 15 July 1972. In 1975 he was the Labour Minister in the

. In 1975, after the

Assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman The first president of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and most of his family were killed during the early hours of 15 August 1975 by a group of young Bangladesh Army personnel who invaded his Bangabandhu Memorial Museum, Dhanmondi 32 resi ...

he joined the

Khandakar Mushtaq Ahmed Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad (also spelled Khandakar Mushtaq Ahmed; – 5 March 1996) was a Bangladeshi politician. He was the President of Bangladesh from 15 August to 6 November 1975, after the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He was part ...

government. He became Minister of Planning of the

Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad (also spelled Khandakar Mushtaq Ahmed; – 5 March 1996) was a Bangladeshi politician. He was the President of Bangladesh from 15 August to 6 November 1975, after the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He was part ...

government. In 1977, Ali was the secretary-general

Mizanur Rahman Chowdhury Mizanur Rahman Chowdhury ( bn, মিজানুর রহমান চৌধুরী; 19 October 1928 – 2 February 2006) was a Bengali politician, most notable for serving as Prime Minister of Bangladesh from 9 July 1986, to 27 March 1988. ...

fraction of Bangladesh Awami League. He joined the Bangladesh Nationalist Party after a failed parliamentary election. In 1979 he was Minister of Textile in Ziaur Rahman cabinet. In 1981 he was the Minister of Jute and Textile in Justice Abdus Sattar cabinet. He joined Jatiya Party in 1985. In 1986 he served as relief and rehabilitation minister under President Ershad. Ali died in December 1998.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ali, Muhammad Yusuf 1923 births 1998 deaths People from Dinajpur District, Bangladesh University of Dhaka alumni University of Rajshahi alumni Awami League politicians Date of birth missing Date of death missing Place of death missing Education ministers of Bangladesh Cultural Affairs ministers of Bangladesh Labour ministers of Bangladesh Planning ministers of Bangladesh Textile ministers of Bangladesh Textiles and Jute ministers of Bangladesh Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League executive committee members Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League central committee members