Sadeque Hossain Khoka (12 May 1952 – 4 November 2019) was a Bangladeshi politician. He served as the 2nd mayor of

Dhaka City Corporation Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) was the former self-governing corporation that was entrusted with the task of administering the municipal affairs of Dhaka. The incorporated area was divided into several wards. Each ward has an elected ward commissio ...

during 2002 to 2011. He was the vice chairman of the

Bangladesh Nationalist Party The Bangladesh Nationalist Party ( bn, বাংলাদেশ জাতীয়তাবাদী দল, Bangladesh Jātīyotābādī Dol; BNP) is a centre-right to right-wing nationalist, political party in Bangladesh and one of the major ...

and was President of undivided

Dhaka city Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city i ...

BNP for longest period of the organisation's existence.

Early life and career

Khoka was born in a Muslim family. His father was an engineer and a social worker. Khoka attended

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 ...

and completed M.A. in psychology. In 1971 at the age of 19 he fought in 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 ...

. After independence, he worked in organizing soccer, rising to the positions of General Secretary of the Dhaka Metropolitan Football Association and Joint General Secretary of the Bangladesh Football Federation. Khoka was the key person of the football club

Brothers Union Brothers Union is a football club based in Gopibag, Dhaka. The club was founded in 1949 and the regal business tycoon Kazi Ghiyasuddin Ahmed, better known as K. G. Ahmed served as the founder chairman of the club. At the beginning it was a well ...

. Khoka was first elected to the

Jatiyo Sangshad The Jatiya Sangsad ( bn, জাতীয় সংসদ, lit=National Parliament, translit=Jatiyô Sôngsôd), often referred to simply as the ''Sangsad'' or JS and also known as the House of the Nation, is the supreme legislative body of B ...

(national legislature) in 1991. In the same year he was made State Minister of Youth and Sports. Khoka also won from his constituency in elections in 1996 and 2001. After

's victory in 2001, Khoka was made Cabinet Minister of Fisheries and Livestock. Being in the office, he fought the

election for mayorship and won. He took office as the Mayor of Dhaka on 25 April 2002. He served as both Minister and Mayor till 2004 when he resigned from the ministry. Khoka resigned from the mayoral duties of Dhaka on 29 November 2011, when the government passed a bill in parliament to split DCC (Dhaka City Corporation) into two parts and renamed them DCC North and DCC South. In 2013, Khoka compared the crackdown on Hefazat protestors to the Pakistani crackdown on 25 March and Jalianwala Bagh massacres. In response, Detective Branch police raided the houses of Sadeque Hossain Khoka and

Bangladesh Jatiya Party The Bangladesh Jatiya Party is a political party in Bangladesh. It is a splinter group of the original Jatiya Party, that was founded by the former President of Bangladesh Hossain Mohammad Ershad. It was previously known as Jatiya Party (Naz ...

chairman Andaleeve Rahman Partha.

Family

Khoka was married to Ismat Ara and had two sons and a daughter. His eldest son Ishraque Hossain is a politician and

candidate in 2018 Mayoral election in Dhaka. Another son Ishfaque Hossain is now a Bachelor level student from

University of Hertfordshire The University of Hertfordshire (UH) is a public university in Hertfordshire, United Kingdom. The university is based largely in Hatfield, Hertfordshire. Its antecedent institution, Hatfield Technical College, was founded in 1948 and was ident ...

. His daughter Sarika Sadeque is married to Ahmed Iftekhar, Son of

Ahmad Nazir Ahmad Nazir is a politician from Noakhali District of Bangladesh. He was elected a member of parliament from Noakhali-7 in 1979. Career Ahmad Nazir is a politician, journalist and writer. He was elected a Member of Parliament from Noakhali- ...

, Ex Parliament Member. Both of them pursued MBA degree from

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...

Death

Khoka died from cancer on 4 November 2019 in New York.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khoka, Sadeque Hossain 1952 births 2019 deaths University of Dhaka alumni Bangladesh Nationalist Party politicians Mayors of Dhaka State Ministers of Youth and Sports (Bangladesh) Fisheries and Livestock ministers of Bangladesh Recipients of the Bangladesh National Sports Award 5th Jatiya Sangsad members 6th Jatiya Sangsad members 7th Jatiya Sangsad members 8th Jatiya Sangsad members Deaths from cancer in New York (state)