Z. N. Tahmida Begum () is a botanist and former chairperson of

Bangladesh Public Service Commission Bangladesh Public Service Commission ( bn, বাংলাদেশ সরকারী কর্ম কমিশন) is a quasi judicial constitutional body established in 1972. The commission is responsible for the recruitment of civil service se ...

, the first woman chairperson of the commission. She is a professor of botany at the University of Dhaka.

Early life

Begum was born on 26 November 1945 in

Rajshahi District Rajshahi District ( bn, রাজশাহী জেলা) is a district in mid-western Bangladesh. It is a part of the Rajshahi Division. The metropolitan city of Rajshahi is in Rajshahi District. Geography Rajshahi district is bounded by Naoga ...

East Bengal ur, , common_name = East Bengal , status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan , p1 = Bengal Presidency , flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg , s1 = East ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. She completed her bachelor's degree and masters in botany from the University of Dhaka in 1966 and 1967 respectively. In 1977, she finished her PhD from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

. She completed her post doctoral research at the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public university, public research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. The University of Nottingham belongs t ...

Career

Begum has served as a Trustee Board member of

Bangladesh National Museum The Bangladesh National Museum ( bn, বাংলাদেশ জাতীয় জাদুঘর), is the national museum of Bangladesh. The museum is well organized and displays have been housed chronologically in several departments like dep ...

from 1993 to 1995. She was a member of the Syndicate Board of the University of Dhaka from 1994 to 1996. From 1999 to 2001, Begum served as the Chairperson of the Department of Botany of the University of Dhaka. From 2001 to 2002, Begum served as the Pro Vice-chancellor of the University of Dhaka. She was a member of the Syndicate Board of the University of Dhaka from 2004 to 2006. Begum is a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Science Foundation, published by Bangladesh Science Foundation. She is a Professor of Botany at the University of Dhaka. She is the Chief Editor of Bangladesh Journal of Botany published by

Bangladesh Botanical Society Bangladesh Botanical Society is a national non-profit organisation that supports botanical research in Bangladesh. It provides scholarships to botany students in Bangladesh. It is located in the Department of Botany, University of Dhaka, Banglad ...

. Begum faced allegation of corruption by

Transparency International Bangladesh Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) is the Bangladeshi branch of the Berlin-based Transparency International, a civil society organisation dedicated to fighting against corruption. History TIB started its activities in 1996. In 2016 it ...

during her term as the chairperson of Bangladesh Public Service Commission. She organized a meeting on the matter on 25 March 2007 where Hafizur Rahman, law teacher at the University of Dhaka, called for a judicial investigation against her and the commission. The meeting ended chaotically following the demand for investigation. In 2005, her resignation was demanded following alleged leak of question papers of the 25th Bangladesh Civil Service exam. On 8 May 2007, She ended her term as chairperson and was replaced by Saadat Husain. She had recommended canceling the quota system in the Bangladesh Civil Service to the President of Bangladesh. Begum is a fellow of the

Bangladesh Academy of Sciences Bangladesh Academy of Sciences is an academic forum for Bangladeshi scientists and technologists. Established in 1973, it aims to fulfill the role of promoting research and development of sciences in Bangladesh. History After the partition of ...

. She is a member of the

Bangladesh Society of Microbiologists Bangladesh Society of Microbiologists (BSM) is an association of Bangladeshi Microbiologists. History The Bangladesh Society of Microbiologists was established in 1976 by a few researchers and intellectuals from Bangladesh. From the period of it ...

. In June 2018, Begum participated in a protest calling for the release of for 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 ...

from prison organized by Shoto Nagarik.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Begum, Z. N. Tahmida Living people Bangladeshi civil servants Bangladeshi women civil servants 1945 births People from Rajshahi District Bangladeshi botanists Women botanists Alumni of the University of London Alumni of the University of Nottingham University of Dhaka alumni Academic staff of the University of Dhaka