Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad

Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad is a Bangladeshi economist and development thinker and activist. He is currently the chairman of Dhaka School of Economics (DScE), a constituent institution of the University of Dhaka, devoted to post-graduate studies in economics and related subjects. He is also the chairman of Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF), which is largest rural development funding, skill development and management support agency in Bangladesh. He received the highest national civilian award Independence Award 2019; and Ekushe Padak 2009, presented by the Government of Bangladesh.

Early life and education

Ahmad was born in very early 1940s in Sylhet district of Bangladesh, which was at that time part of Indian Assam. His father, the late Mumtazul Muhaddisin Moulana Md. Mufazzal Hussain, was a member (MLA) of the Assam Legislative Assembly from 1946 to 1952
Member (MLA) of the Assam Legislative Assembly from 1946–52 and later a college professor. Ahmad was taught by his father until he went to school at the 8th grade. He achieved outstanding results in both secondary and higher secondary levels. He studied at the University of Dhaka, obtaining BA (Hons) in economics and MA (Econ.) degrees in 1961 and 1962 respectively. Later, he went to the London School of Economics (LSE), University of London, on a national merit fellowship and obtained MPhil (Econ.) and PhD (Econ.) degrees.

He was active in promoting Bangladesh's nationalist aspirations during the 1960s and a participant in the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, as a Planning Cell member of the then Bangladesh Government-in-exile.Ashfaque Hossain, History of Liberation War of Moulvibazar District, published by Syed Mofassir Ali, Moulvibazar, Bangladesh, 1997. (Liberation War 1971)
Planning Cell of Bangladesh Government-in-Exile during Bangladesh liberation war in 1971

Career

Ahmad spent 23 years in a research career at Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) and its predecessor Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE), having been a Research Director for a number of years. He left BIDS in 1987 and then worked as the chairman (chief executive) of Bangladesh Unnayan Parishad (BUP), which he helped, set up in 1980. He left BUP on taking over as chairman of the Governing Body of PKSF in November 2009. He is the founder chairman of Dhaka School of Economics -DScE, established in August 2010. He was elected president of Bangladesh Economic Association (BEA), the apex body of economists of Bangladesh, for consecutive three terms from 2002 to 2010.

He was coordinating lead author and lead author of the Third and the Fourth Assessments respectively of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), published respectively in 2001 and 2007. He was president of the Kuala Lumpur-based Association of Development Research and Training Institutes of Asia and the Pacific—ADIPA (which is now renamed the Asian Political and International Studies Association—APISA) from 1979 to 1983 and vice-president of the Rome-based Society for International Development (SID) from 1988 to 1991. He led many UN FAO/WFP food and crop assessment missions during the 1990s and early 2000s to food deficit African and Asian countries facing food crisis due to natural disasters and civil strife.

In addition to his other responsibilities, he has been the Coordinator of Bangladesh Climate Change Negotiation Team within the framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
UNFCCC: Climate change coordinator of Bangladesh, International Union for Conservation of Nature (ICUN): member of "Ecosystems for Life" He represented Bangladesh in the UN Open Working Group (OWG)
Represents Bangladesh in the UN Open Working Group (OWG) on Post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). He was also a member of the executive board of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)
Executive Board member of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of Kyoto Protocol, representing non-Annex-1 countries.

Publications

His publications and research and other works include 40 books and over 250 articles, research reports and unpublished papers. He has also contributed numerous columns in newspapers. He is a well-known expert on water and climate change issues. Some of Ahmad's publications are listed below:
Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad's book in Book Finder
Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad's book in Google Books
Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad's book in Web
* 1984: ''Rural Poverty Alleviation in Bangladesh Experiences and Policies'' (co-author) A WCARRD follow up Study, In-depth Studies Series 10, FAO.
* 1996: ''The Implications of Climate and Sea-Level Change for Bangladesh'', co-editor, Kluwer Academic Publishers, .
* 2001: ''Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna Region: A Framework for Sustainable Development'' (co-editor), University Press Limited (UPL), .
* 2005: ''Climate Change and Water Resources in South Asia'', (co-editor), Francis & Taylor,.
* 2005: ''Emerging Global Economic Order and the Developing Countries'', (editor), University Press Ltd (UPL), .
* 2007: ''Socio-Economic and Indebtedness-Related Impact of Micro-Credit in Bangladesh'', ActionAid Bangladesh (AAB), .
* 2008: ''Interlinking of Rivers in India: Issues and Concerns'', CRC Press
* 2009: ''Tackling Social Exclusion: South Asia'', International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
* 2016: ''Sustainable Development and All That'', Pathak Shamabesh, Dhaka.
* 2017: ''Environment, Climate Change and Water Resources'', Pathak Shamabesh, Dhaka, August 2017.
* 2018: ''Socio-Economics of Bangladesh Through the Decades'', Pathak Shamabesh, Dhaka.
* 2019: ''Perspectives on People Centered Development with Particular Reference to Bangladesh'', Aloghor Prokashona, Dhaka.
* 2020: ''Climate Adaptation for a Sustainable Economy: Lessons from Bangladesh, an Emerging Tiger of Asia'' (co-editor), NOVA Science Publishers, New York, US, 2020.

Awards

He received many national and international awards including the following:
* 2005: Received Mercantile Bank Award-2005., Received Mercantile Bank Award-2005 for his outstanding contribution in the field of economic research
* 2007: Is a Member of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize winning UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change -IPCC Team.
, Member of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize winning IPCC
* 2009: Was awarded the Ekushey Padak Awards (2000–2009), Ekushey Padak 2009.
* 2012: He was awarded Bangladesh Economic Association (BEA) Gold Medal.
* 2019: National Environment Award 2019 by the State.
* 2019: Independence Award 2019, the highest Civilian Award by Government of Bangladesh.

References

External links

dsce.edu.bd
– Dhaka School of Economics Website

PKSF Web Portal
– Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahmad, Qazi Kholiquzzaman

1943 births
Living people
Bangladeshi economists
University of Dhaka alumni
Alumni of the London School of Economics
Recipients of the Ekushey Padak
Bangladeshi environmentalists
Recipients of the Independence Day Award
Pakistani expatriates in the United Kingdom