Abdus Sattar (1 March 1906 – 5 October 1985) was a Bangladeshi

statesman A statesman or stateswoman typically is a politician who has had a long and respected political career at the national or international level. Statesman or Statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States * ''The Statesman'' (Oregon), a n ...

. A leader 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 ...

(BNP), he 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 1981 to 1982, and earlier as the

Vice President of Bangladesh The vice-president of Bangladesh was formerly the second highest constitutional office in Bangladesh, when the country was governed under a presidential system. The Vice-President was the first person in the presidential line of succession, in t ...

. A jurist by profession, Sattar held numerous constitutional and political offices in

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 ...

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 ...

and

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

. He was a cabinet minister, supreme court judge, and chief election commissioner. Sattar was one of the few

executive president An executive president is the head of state who exercises authority over the governance of that state, and can be found in presidential, semi-presidential, and parliamentary systems. They contrast with figurehead presidents, common in most parli ...

s in the country's history. Beset by health problems and old age, his short lived presidency was marked by growing political turmoil and interference from the military. Sattar was overthrown in the 1982 Bangladesh coup d'état.

Early life and career

Sattar was born in 1906 in

Birbhum Birbhum district () is an administrative unit in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the northernmost district of Burdwan division—one of the five administrative divisions of West Bengal. The district headquarters is in Suri. Other impor ...

in the then

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia and ...

. He obtained his

LLB Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

and

Master of Law A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

from the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate State university (India), state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered ...

and joined the Calcutta High Court Bar in 1931 as a junior in the Chambers of A.K. Fazlul Huq. He specialised in Municipal Law. He became a protege of A. K. Fazlul Huq, the first Prime Minister of Bengal. He served in various municipal bodies in

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

as an activist for the Krishak Praja Party. In 1950, following the

Partition of British India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: India and Pakistan. T ...

, Sattar moved to

Dacca 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 ...

in the

Dominion of Pakistan Between 14 August 1947 and 23 March 1956, Pakistan was an independent federal dominion in the Commonwealth of Nations, created by the passing of the Indian Independence Act 1947 by the British parliament, which also created the Dominion of I ...

. He joined the

Dhaka High Court The High Court Division, Supreme Court of Bangladesh ( bn, হাইকোর্ট ডিভিশন) popularly known as the 'High Court' is one of the two divisions of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, the other division being the Appellate D ...

Bar. He was elected to the

Constituent Assembly of Pakistan The Constituent Assembly of Pakistan ( bn, পাকিস্তান গণপরিষদ, Pākistān Goṇoporishod; ur, , Aāin Sāz Asimblī) was established in August 1947 to frame Constitution of Pakistan of 1956, a constitution for Paki ...

in 1955. He served as the Home Minister of Pakistan and

Education Minister of Pakistan The Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training ( ur, ) is a federal ministry of the Government of Pakistan. The ministry's political head is known as thMinister for Education (Pakistan) , Minister of Pakistanand the ministry's ...

in the cabinet of Prime Minister

Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar ( ur, ابراہیم اسماعیل چندریگر; 15 September 1897 – 26 September 1960), best known as I. I. Chundrigar, was a Pakistani politician who served as the sixth prime minister of Pakistan, appointed in ...

in 1957. He was appointed as a

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

in the Dhaka High Court, which he served between 1957 and 1968. He also presided over cases in the

Supreme Court of Pakistan The Supreme Court of Pakistan ( ur, ; ''Adālat-e-Uzma Pākistān'') is the apex court in the judicial hierarchy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Established in accordance to thePart VIIof the Constitution of Pakistan, it has ultimate a ...

. In 1969, Sattar was appointed as the

Chief Election Commissioner of Pakistan The Chief Election Commissioner is the authority and the appointed chair of the Election Commission of Pakistan— an institution constitutionally empowered to conduct free and fair elections to the national and provincial legislatures. Befor ...

. He organised the first general election of Pakistan in 1970, in which 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 ...

gained a historic parliamentary majority to form government. The League was denied the handover of power by the then

military junta A military junta () is a government led by a committee of military leaders. The term ''junta'' means "meeting" or "committee" and originated in the national and local junta organized by the Spanish resistance to Napoleon's invasion of Spain in ...

led by General

Yahya Khan General Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan , (Urdu: ; 4 February 1917 – 10 August 1980); commonly known as Yahya Khan, was a Pakistani military general who served as the third President of Pakistan and Chief Martial Law Administrator following his pr ...

. As 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 ...

erupted with a

genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Latin ...

against Bengali civilians, Sattar was stranded in Islamabad, West Pakistan, removed from official positions and

interned Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...

by the Pakistani government. In 1973, Sattar returned to independent

as part of the repatriation of stranded Bengali officials. He enjoyed rising prominence in

Dhaka 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 ...

, but lived a quiet life with his wife and had no children. Sattar served as chairman of the board of Directors in the Bangladesh Life Insurance Corporation (1973–1974), Chairman of the Journalist Wage Board (1974–1975) and Chairman of the

Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs The Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs (BILIA) was established in Bangladesh as a government-funded think tank on various affairs of law and foreign policy. A future president of Bangladesh, Abdus Sattar ʻAbd al-Sattār (ALA- ...

. In 1975, he was appointed as an adviser to President Justice

Abu Sadat Mohammad Sayem Abu Sadat Mohammad Sayem (29 March 1916 – 8 July 1997) was a Bangladeshi jurist and statesman. He was first Chief Justice of Bangladesh from 1972 to 1975. He became the President of Bangladesh in the aftermath of counter-coups in November 197 ...

and vested in charge of the Ministry of Law and Parliamentary Affairs. In 1977, the new president and

Chief Martial Law Administrator The office of the Chief Martial Law Administrator was a senior and authoritative post with Zonal Martial Law Administrators as deputies created in countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia that gave considerable executive authority and p ...

, Lt General

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' ...

, appointed Sattar as

. With the reinstatement of multiparty politics, Sattar joined the newly formed

(BNP) in 1978. Speaking of Zia, Sattar said "He was like my son. I loved him too much. I loved him because he was trying to build this small country in a better way."

Presidency

When Zia was assassinated in May 1981, a frail Vice-President Sattar was in hospital and automatically became the

acting president An acting president is a person who temporarily fills the role of a country's president when the incumbent president is unavailable (such as by illness or a vacation) or when the post is vacant (such as for death, injury, resignation, dismissal ...

of Bangladesh. Speaking to foreign reporters in

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 4 June, he announced that elections within 180 days of the death of the former president were on schedule as per the constitution, to "foil any conspiracy to disturb the democratic process in the country." A

state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...

was imposed. The election date of 21 September was pushed back to 15 November, as opposition parties demanded more time to campaign. Violence occurred when 12 army officers were executed after being convicted of complicity in Zia's killing. As the nominee of BNP, Sattar won the

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...

in 1981, beating with a big margin his principal challenger

Kamal Hossain Kamal Hossain (born 20 April 1937) is a founding leader, lawyer and politician of Bangladesh. He is known as the "father of the Bangladeshi constitution" and regarded as an icon of secular democracy in the Indian subcontinent. Hossain currently ...

from the

Bangladesh Awami League Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

. Hossain and other opposition groups alleged the polls were rigged. The emergency was lifted after the election. Sattar appointed a 42-member Council of Ministers. He let Zia's controversial prime minister

Shah Azizur Rahman Shah Azizur Rahman ( bn, শাহ আজিজুর রহমান; 23 November 1925 – 1 September 1989) was a Bangladeshi politician who served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh. However, he was the subject of considerable controversy for ...

continue in the top job. Sattar personally held the Defence and Planning portfolios. He appointed economist

Mirza Nurul Huda Mirza Nurul Huda (1 August 1919 – 22 December 1991) was an economist and academic who served as the 3rd Vice President of Bangladesh. He served as the governor of East Pakistan and the finance minister of Bangladesh. Early life Huda was born i ...

as the vice president. Violence against Bengali Muslims in

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

in neighbouring India flared during Sattar's presidency. Sattar formed a

National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a na ...

to explore how the

Bangladesh Armed Forces The Bangladesh Armed Forces ( bn, বাংলাদেশ সশস্ত্র বাহিনী, Bangladesh Sashastra Bahinī) are the Armed forces, combined military forces of the Bangladesh, People's Republic of Bangladesh. It consists ...

could contribute to the nation's development. He was elected unopposed as President of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party in January 1982. Sattar then formed a new cabinet. Vice-President Huda resigned on 21 March 1982, claiming that he was the victim of a conspiracy within BNP. Sattar appointed

Mohammad Mohammadullah Mohammad Mohammadullah ( bn, মোহাম্মদ মুহম্মদুল্লাহ; 21 October 1921 – 12 November 1999) was the President of the People's Republic of Bangladesh. Mohammadullah became the Acting President on 24 Decemb ...

as Huda's replacement.

1982 military coup

A bloodless coup-d'etat led by the

Bangladesh Army The Bangladesh Army is the land warfare branch and the largest component of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. The primary mission of the Army is to provide necessary forces and capabilities to deliver the Bangladeshi government's security and def ...

chief

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 ...

toppled Sattar's government in 1982. On the morning of 24 March, the heads of the

Bangladesh Navy The Bangladesh Navy ( bn, বাংলাদেশ নৌবাহিনী, Bangladesh Nou Bahini) is the naval warfare branch of the Bangladesh Armed Forces, responsible for Bangladesh's of maritime territorial area, and the defence of imp ...

, the

Bangladesh Air Force The Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) ( bn, বাংলাদেশ বিমান বাহিনী, Bangladesh Biman Bahini) is the aerial warfare branch of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. The Air Force is primarily responsible for air defence of B ...

, the

Bangladesh Rifles Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) are a paramilitary force responsible for the border security of Bangladesh. The force is known as "The Vigilant Sentinels of the National Frontier". The BGB is entrusted with the responsibility to defend the borde ...

and the military secretary to the president entered Bangabhaban and forced Sattar to sign a statement relinquishing power.

Martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...

was declared. Sattar was replaced by the retired justice A. F. M. Ahsanuddin Chowdhury.

Death

Sattar died at the Suhrawardy Hospital in Dhaka on 5 October 1985, at the age of 79.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sattar, Abdus 1906 births 1985 deaths Bengali politicians Bengali Muslims People from Birbhum district University of Calcutta alumni Krishak Sramik Party politicians Chief Election Commissioners of Pakistan Justices of the Supreme Court of Pakistan Bangladesh Nationalist Party politicians Chairpersons of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party Vice presidents of Bangladesh Presidents of Bangladesh Interior Ministers of Pakistan Education Ministers of Pakistan Pakistani MNAs 1955–1958 Bangladeshi people of Indian descent 20th-century Bengalis