Sayeed Iskander (13 January 1953 – 23 September 2012) was a Bangladeshi politician and army major. He was a member of the Bangladeshi parliament from 2001 to 2006, representing 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 ...

from the

Feni-1 Feni-1 is a constituency represented in the Jatiya Sangsad (National Parliament) of Bangladesh since 2014 by Shirin Akhter of the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal. Boundaries The constituency encompasses Chhagalnaiya, Fulgazi, and Parshuram upazilas ...

constituency. He was the younger brother of former Prime Minister

Khaleda Zia Khaleda Zia (; born Khaleda Khanam Putul in 1945) is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh from March 1991 to March 1996, and again from June 2001 to October 2006. She was the first female prime minister of Ba ...

. Iskander was also the founding chairman of Islamic Television.

Early life

Sayeed Iskander was born on 13 January 1953 in

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 bound ...

. He belonged 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 ...

family with origins in Fulgazi,

Feni District Feni is a district located in southeastern Bangladesh. It was a part of the Greater Noakhali, Comilla, Chittagong and Tripura. , the district's estimated population stood at 1,437,371, making it the ninth-most populous district in Chittagong Divis ...

. He was the son of tea-businessman Iskandar Ali Majumder, who was in turn the son of Salamat Ali Majumdar, who was the son of Azgar Ali Majumdar, who was the son of Nahar Muhammad Khan, who was the son of Murad Khan, a 16th-century Middle Eastern immigrant. His mother,

Taiyaba Majumder Taiyaba Majumder (1921 – 18 January 2008) was a Bangladeshi housewife and recipient of the Begum Rokeya Padak. She was the mother of former Prime Minister as well opposition leader of Bangladesh and B.N.P. Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia, former ...

, was from Chandbari (now in

Uttar Dinajpur District Uttar Dinajpur () is a district of the Indian state of West Bengal. Created on 1 April 1992 by the division of the erstwhile West Dinajpur district, it comprises two subdivisions: Raiganj and Islampur. History Undivided Dinajpur district ...

). During his time as a student in 1969, Iskander was the general secretary of the Dinajpur unit of East Pakistan Student League. He went on to become the vice president of the Central Committee of the League.

Career

He joined Bangladesh Army in 1974. He retired from the Army in 1982 with the rank of Major. Iskander then joined the

, a political party founded by his brother-in-law 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' ...

. After his elder sister

gave up her seat at the

constituency, Iskander competed in a by-election in November 2001 and successfully won a seat in parliament.

Death

He died from lung cancer on 23 September 2012 in New York, United States. He was buried in

Banani Military Graveyard Banani may refer to: People * Bruno Banani (luger), a Tongan Olympian Places * Banani, Mali a village * Banani Model Town, a neighbourhood of Dhaka, Bangladesh * Banani Lake, Dhaka, Bangladesh Other uses * Bruno Banani, a German fashion company ...

References

Bangladesh Nationalist Party politicians 8th Jatiya Sangsad members Bangladesh Army officers 1953 births 2012 deaths People from Fulgazi Upazila 21st-century Bengalis 20th-century Bengalis Bangladeshi people of Middle Eastern descent {{BangladeshNationalistParty-politician-stub 21st-century Muslims 20th-century Muslims Bangladeshi Sunni Muslims Majumder–Zia family