Shahabuddin Ahmed (1 February 1930 – 19 March 2022) served as the
President of Bangladesh
The president of Bangladesh ( bn, বাংলাদেশের রাষ্ট্রপতি — ) officially the President of the People's Republic of Bangladesh ( bn, গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশে ...
from 1996 to 2001, and the
Chief Justice of Bangladesh
The chief justice of Bangladesh ( bn, বাংলাদেশের প্রধান বিচারপতি — ) is the chief amongst the judges of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, and also head of the whole judicial establishments, includ ...
from 1990 to 1995.
[ He previously served as the acting president during 1990–91 when ]Hussain Muhammad Ershad
Lt. Gen. Hussain Muhammad Ershad ( bn, হুসেইন মুহাম্মদ এরশাদ; 1 February 1930 – 14 July 2019) was a Bangladeshi Army Chief politician who served as the President of Bangladesh from 1983 to 1990, a time ma ...
resigned from the post. He headed a caretaker government
A caretaker government is a temporary ''ad hoc'' government that performs some governmental duties and functions in a country until a regular government is elected or formed. Depending on specific practice, it usually consists of either randomly se ...
and held a general election in February 1991.[
]
Early life and education
Ahmed was born on 1 February 1930 in Pamal village in Kendua, Netrokona
Netrokona ( bn, নেত্রকোনা) is a major town and District headquarter in Netrokona District in the Mymensingh Division, division of Mymensingh. It is the largest town and urban centre of Netrokona District.
References
{{Refl ...
. His father Talukdar Resat Ahmed Bhuiyan was a philanthropist. After passing the matriculation and intermediate examinations he took admission into 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 1948, obtained a bachelor's degree in economics in 1951 and a master's in international relations in 1952 as a resident student of Fazlul Haq Hall. He attended a special course in public administration at the University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
.
Career
Ahmed joined the Civil Service of Pakistan
The Central Superior Services (CSS; or Civil Service) is a permanent elite civil service authority, and the civil service that is responsible for running the bureaucratic operations and government secretariats and directorates of the Cabinet of ...
in 1954, completed training in the Lahore Civil Service Academy and at the University of Oxford. He was sub-divisional officer of Gopalganj
Gopalganj may refer to:
Bangladesh
*Gopalganj District, Bangladesh, a district of Dhaka Division
**Gopalganj, Bangladesh, a town and headquarter of Gopalganj district
**Gopalganj Sadar Upazila, an upazila of Gopalganj District
** Gopalganj-1, a pa ...
and Natore. In addition he was a deputy commissioner of Faridpur. In 1960, he was transferred to the judicial branch. He worked as additional district and session judge of Dhaka and Barisal, and as district and sessions judge of Comilla
Comilla (; bn, কুমিল্লা, Kumillā, ), officially spelled Cumilla, is the fifth largest city of Bangladesh and second largest in Chittagong division. It is the administrative centre of the Comilla District. The name Comilla was ...
and Chittagong
Chittagong ( /ˈtʃɪt əˌɡɒŋ/ ''chit-uh-gong''; ctg, চিটাং; bn, চিটাগং), officially Chattogram ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম), is the second-largest city in Bangladesh after Dhaka and third largest city in B ...
. In 1967, he served as a registrar of the High Court of the then East Pakistan
East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, 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 ...
in Dhaka. He was elevated to the bench of the High Court on 20 January 1972 and acted on deputation at the Labour Appellate Tribunal for two years, 1973 and 1974.
Ahmed was appointed a judge of the appellate division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh
The Supreme Court of Bangladesh ( bn, বাংলাদেশ সুপ্রীম কোর্ট) is the highest court of law in Bangladesh. It is composed of the High Court Division and the Appellate Division, and was created by Part VI C ...
on 7 February 1980 and was confirmed in this office on 15 April 1981. Ahmed was the chairman of the Commission of Inquiry established under the Commission of Inquiry Act on police firing on the students in mid-February 1983. He was the chairman of the National Pay Commission in 1984 and submitted a report on the basis of which upward revision of pay scale was made.
Caretaker government (1990–1991)
Ahmed was appointed the Chief Justice of Bangladesh
The chief justice of Bangladesh ( bn, বাংলাদেশের প্রধান বিচারপতি — ) is the chief amongst the judges of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, and also head of the whole judicial establishments, includ ...
on 14 January 1990. Following a public agitation which was led by opposition political parties bent on changing the autocratic system of government and the resignation of the government headed by the then President Hussain Muhammad Ershad
Lt. Gen. Hussain Muhammad Ershad ( bn, হুসেইন মুহাম্মদ এরশাদ; 1 February 1930 – 14 July 2019) was a Bangladeshi Army Chief politician who served as the President of Bangladesh from 1983 to 1990, a time ma ...
, on 6 December 1990, the-then vice-president Moudud Ahmed
Moudud Ahmed (24 May 1940 – 16 March 2021) was a Bangladeshi lawyer and politician. He was a standing committee member of Bangladesh Nationalist Party. Ahmed was elected as a Jatiya Sangsad member total five times from Noakhali-1 and Noakhali-5 ...
resigned and Ahmed was appointed the new vice-president. Later that day Ershad resigned and Ahmed took over as the acting President of the country.
Ahmed was chosen by all political parties including Ershad to hold the interim government that would oversee the neutral election to parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
.[ He administered the oath of office to his council of advisors at ]Bangabhaban
The Bangabhaban ( bn, বঙ্গভবন ''Bôngobhôbôn'', lit. ''House of Bengal'') is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of Bangladesh, located on Bangabhaban Road, and short road connecting Dilkusha, Dhaka, ...
on 9 December 1990 and held the first meeting on 15 December 1990. After the Fifth National Parliamentary Elections held on 27 February 1991, Ahmed handed over the parliamentary ruling power to the newly elected 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 ...
. He resigned from the presidency on 9 October 1991 and the next day returned to his previous post of chief justice from which he eventually retired on 1 February 1995.[
]
President of Bangladesh (1996–2001)
Ahmed was elected president unopposed on 23 July 1996 after having been nominated by the Awami League In Urdu language, Awami is the adjectival form for '' Awam'', the Urdu language word for common people.
The adjective appears in the following proper names:
*Awami Colony, a neighbourhood of Landhi Town in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan
*Awami Front, wa ...
government and sworn in on 9 October the same year. He retired from the office on 14 November 2001.[ When the ]Awami League In Urdu language, Awami is the adjectival form for '' Awam'', the Urdu language word for common people.
The adjective appears in the following proper names:
*Awami Colony, a neighbourhood of Landhi Town in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan
*Awami Front, wa ...
lost the Parliamentary Elections in 2001 he was dubbed a "betrayer" by Sheikh Hasina
Sheikh Hasina Wazed (''née'' Sheikh Hasina ; ; bn, শেখ হাসিনা ওয়াজেদ, Shēkh Hasinā, , born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Prime Minister ...
. He lamented "I am an angel if anything is done according to their desire, otherwise I am a devil."
Philanthropy
Ahmed was chairman of the Bangladesh Red Cross Society, from August 1978 to April 1982 in addition to his duties as a Judge of the Supreme Court. He set up a number of rural hospitals maternity centres, in particular, the Teligati Red Cross Hospital (Netrakona) which was financed by the Swiss Red Cross. He was a member of the Bangladesh Government delegation to the 10th Conference of Foreign Ministers of the Islamic countries (OIC) held in Fez, Morocco
Fez or Fes (; ar, فاس, fās; zgh, ⴼⵉⵣⴰⵣ, fizaz; french: Fès) is a city in northern inland Morocco and the capital of the Fès-Meknès, Fès-Meknès administrative region. It is the List of cities in Morocco, second largest city i ...
in 1979 where the question of setting up an International Islamic Red Crescent Society was debated. On his initiative the Family Planning and Population Control was included in the main function of the Bangladesh Red Cross.
Personal life and legacy
Ahmed was married to Anowara Begum (1937 – 2018) . Together they had two sons and three daughters. In 2008, a lake in Gulshan, Dhaka was named ''Rastrapati Bicharpati Shahabuddin Ahmed Park'' after Ahmed.
In February 2022, Ahmed was taken to the intensive care unit
220px, Intensive care unit
An intensive care unit (ICU), also known as an intensive therapy unit or intensive treatment unit (ITU) or critical care unit (CCU), is a special department of a hospital or health care facility that provides intensiv ...
(ICU) of the Combined Military Hospital
Combined Military Hospitals ( ur, , abbreviated as CMH) are Pakistan Armed Forces hospitals situated in various cantonments of Pakistan.
History
During the British Raj, the British Indian Army troops depended for their medical treatment enti ...
(CMH) due to an aging-associated disease
An aging-associated disease (commonly termed age-related disease, ARD) is a disease that is most often seen with increasing frequency with increasing senescence. They are essentially complications of senescence, distinguished from the aging pr ...
. He died on 19 March 2022 at the Combined Military Hospital at the age of 92.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahmed, Shahabuddin
1930 births
2022 deaths
People from Netrokona District
20th-century Bangladeshi judges
University of Dhaka alumni
Presidents of Bangladesh
Vice presidents of Bangladesh
Supreme Court of Bangladesh justices
Chief justices of Bangladesh