Syed Ishtiaq Ahmed (16 January 1932 – 12 July 2003) was a Bangladeshi lawyer and constitutionalist. He was a former

attorney general of Bangladesh Attorney may refer to: * Lawyer ** Attorney at law, in some jurisdictions * Attorney, one who has power of attorney * ''The Attorney'', a 2013 South Korean film See also * Attorney general, the principal legal officer of (or advisor to) a gove ...

. He served as an adviser of law to the non-party caretaker government in two successive terms.

Background and education

Ahmed and his family were originated from

Ghazipur Ghazipur is a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Ghazipur city is the administrative headquarters of the Ghazipur district, one of the four districts that form the Varanasi division of Uttar Pradesh. The city of Ghazipur also constitute ...

in present-day

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

, India. He had four elder brothers and one younger one. He got his elementary education in Ramanath High English School in

Hili, Dakshin Dinajpur Hili is a village in Hili CD Block in Balurghat subdivision of Dakshin Dinajpur district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a border checkpoint on the India-Bangladesh border. History During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 nearly 400 ...

where his father, Syed Zafar Ahmed, had a business. He also studied in

Calcutta Madrasa Aliah University (AU; ur, جامعہ عالیہ) is a state government controlled autonomous university in New Town, West Bengal, India. Previously known as Mohammedan College of Calcutta, it was elevated to university in 2008. It offers und ...

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

. Ahmed passed the matriculation and intermediate exam from

Mymensingh Zilla School Mymensingh Zilla School, also known as MZS, is a boys' public secondary school.The school was established on 3 November, 1853 as Hardinge School during British Raj.It has its own century old reputation for providing quality education and producing ...

in 1948 and

Dhaka College Dhaka College ( bn, ঢাকা কলেজ also known as DC) is the oldest secular educational institution of Bangladesh located in Dhaka. It offers higher secondary education ( HSC). It has Honours and Masters programs as well which are aff ...

in 1950 respectively. He completed his bachelor's and master's in economics at 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 and 1954 respectively. He obtained his second master's in economics from

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

in 1958.

Career

Ahmed joined The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn and became a barrister in 1958. He then taught in a secondary school in London until he returned to Bangladesh in 1960. He worked at the Chamber of Barrister ATM Mustafa at Ramkrishna Mission Road in Dhaka. He started practicing law at the East Pakistan High Court. Ahmed was appointed additional attorney general in 1972 and attorney general in 1976. He was the permanent representative of Bangladesh to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

in 1978. He was recruited as a member of the International Election Observer Group and monitored national elections of Sri Lanka, Nepal, and the Maldives. He served as an adviser to the

Caretaker government of Bangladesh The Caretaker Government of Bangladesh ( bn, বাংলাদেশের তত্ত্বাবধায়ক সরকার) was a form of government in which Bangladesh used to be ruled by a selected government for an interim period du ...

in 1991 and again in 2001. He was twice elected president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, during 1978–79 and 1989–90. Ahmed taught law at the

as a part-time teacher from 1961 to 1968 and served the university as a senior legal adviser from 1972 to 1991. He established ''"Syed Ishtiaq Ahmed & Associates (SIA&A)"''. Ahmed was the president of the Rotary Club of Dhaka North, life member of the

Bangla Academy The Bangla Academy ( bn, বাংলা একাডেমি, ) is an autonomous institution funded by the Bangladesh government to foster the Bengali language, literature and culture, to develop and implement national language policy and to d ...

, the

Asiatic Society of Bangladesh The Asiatic Society of Bangladesh is a non political and non profit research organisation registered under both Society Act of 1864 and NGO Bureau, Government of Bangladesh. The Asiatic Society of Bangladesh was established as the Asiatic Society ...

, the Bangladesh Itihas Parisad, the board of trustees of

Centre for Policy Dialogue The Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), established in 1993 by Rehman Sobhan, its Founder chairman, with support from leading civil society institutions in Bangladesh, is mandated by its Deed of Trust to service the growing demand originating f ...

Personal life

Ahmed married Sufia Ibrahim in June 1955. Sufia is an academic and the first female

National Professor National Professor ( bn, জাতীয় অধ্যাপক) is a prestigious teaching award given by the Government of Bangladesh for outstanding contribution on the field of education. It is awarded by the president of Bangladesh according ...

of Bangladesh. Together they had one son

Syed Refaat Ahmed Syed Refat Ahmed is a justice of the Bangladesh Supreme Court and former judge of the Bangladesh High Court. Early life Ahmed studied law at the Wadham College of Oxford University in 1983. He studied International Relations at The Fletcher School ...

(born December 1959), a justice, and a daughter, Tasneem Raina Fateh, a physician. Ahmed had been suffering from diabetes, anaemia and encephalopathy. He died of old-age complications at BIRDEM Hospital in Dhaka on 12 July 2003. On July 18, 2004, Sufia established a trust fund titled ''"Barrister Syed Ishtiaq Ahmed Memorial Foundation"'' at the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahmed, Syed Ishtiaq 1932 births 2003 deaths People from Ghazipur Mymensingh Zilla School alumni Dhaka College alumni University of Dhaka alumni Academic staff of the University of Dhaka Alumni of the London School of Economics Bangladeshi barristers Attorneys General of Bangladesh