Abul Ahsan ( bn, আবুল আহসান) (28 December 1936 – 7 December 2008) was a Bangladeshi diplomat.

Education

Ahsan secured first class in M.A in economics from the Dhaka University (1959) and M.A in international relations from the

Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy is the graduate school of international affairs of Tufts University, in Medford, Massachusetts. The School is one of America's oldest graduate schools of international relations and is well-ranked in it ...

(1962). He stood first in the Civil and Foreign Services examination of Pakistan and joined the Foreign Service in 1961 and held several diplomatic positions. He completed his secondary school certificate from

Noakhali Zilla School Noakhali Zilla School ( bn, নোয়াখালী জিলা স্কুল) is a boy's high school located in the Maijdee town of Noakhali, Bangladesh. It is one of the oldest schools in the country. The school was established in 1850.(EI ...

Career

After Bangladesh's independence Ahsan served in the Bangladeshi Foreign Service for 34 years, ending his career as the Bangladeshi Ambassador to Washington, DC. He served as the country's Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador to Poland, Italy, Pakistan and the United States (1991–93). He was the first

secretary-general Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

of the

South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is the regional intergovernmental organization and geopolitical union of states in South Asia. Its member states are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan ...

(SAARC) (1987–89) as well as Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh (1989–91). He was one of the 15 members of the Council of Eminent Persons established by the Summit meeting of the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) in 1994 to report on the working of the specialized bodies of the organization. From 1996 to 1999, he served as a member of the Executive Board of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Ahsan served as vice-president at the Independent University Bangladesh . He was chairperson of the Fair Election Monitoring Alliance (FEMA) and was involved in governance and election-related activities for several years, and also held the position of President of Center for Democracy a citizen's organization devoted to the promotion of

good governance Good governance is the process of measuring how public institutions conduct public affairs and manage public resources and guarantee the realization of human rights in a manner essentially free of abuse and corruption and with due regard for th ...

and democracy. He represented Bangladesh at a large number of meetings and conferences including UN General Assembly and Security Council Sessions, Summit and Ministerial level meetings of the Commonwealth, the Non-aligned Movement and the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC). He is the author of the book ''SAARC: A Perspective'' and jointly edited two publications by Independent University Bangladesh entitled Education in a Rapidly Changing World: Focus on Bangladesh and Indigenous Peoples of Bangladesh. He co-chaired a study conducted by the Asia Foundation which was published in 2004 under the title America's role in Asia. He died on 7 December 2008 after going into

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and poss ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahsan, Abul 1936 births 2008 deaths Bangladeshi diplomats Secretaries General of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation The Fletcher School at Tufts University alumni University of Dhaka alumni Ambassadors of Bangladesh to the United States High Commissioners of Bangladesh to Pakistan