Biography of Mirza Fakhrul, the 23rd President of Bangladesh

The 23rd President of Bangladesh, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, was chosen by members of the National Parliament in a direct vote. Following his party’s victory in the national general elections, the 78-year-old veteran politician held the position of Minister of Local Government, Rural Development, and Cooperatives before taking on the nation’s top constitutional position. Additionally, he was the longest-serving Secretary General of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) from the party’s inception in 1978, having held the position for more than 10 years. Before taking the oath of office, Alamgir formally broke all political links with the BNP in a heartfelt farewell ceremony, as required by the constitution.

Mr. Alamgir was born in Thakurgaon on January 26, 1948. He grew up in his birthplace before attending Dhaka College for his further secondary schooling and graduating from Dhaka University’s Department of Economics. His political career started with the East Pakistan Student Union (EPSU), where he led the university section during the 1969 popular revolt. Later, he played a crucial role in organising Marxist liberation fighters during the Liberation War in 1971. Following independence, he joined the civil service as a member of the education cadre and taught economics at Dhaka College and other government colleges. From 1972 until 1986, he worked for the government in several capacities, including Deputy Director of the Directorate of Inspection and Audit and Private Secretary to Deputy Prime Minister S. A. Bari. In 1986, he resigned to return to mainstream politics.

Mr. Alamgir first entered electoral politics in 1988 when he was elected as Thakurgaon’s municipal chairman as an independent. In the early 1990s, he joined the BNP. After being elected to parliament for the first time in 2001, he later held the positions of State Minister for Agriculture and State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism. He became the BNP’s acting secretary general in 2011 and assumed full leadership in 2016. He led the party through its most difficult years, which were characterised by severe political hardship, Begum Khaleda Zia’s imprisonment, and Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman’s exile. As the front-line leader in charge of party strategy and organisational coherence at this time, Mr. Alamgir was imprisoned three times.

Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has gained a reputation as a moderate, courteous, and inclusive politician throughout the course of his long career, which includes decades of education, public service, and political leadership. Political experts and politicians of all stripes praised his ascension to the presidency, recognising his liberal outlook and unwavering commitment in the face of organisational and national hardship. His wife, Rahat Ara Begum, a former business worker, and their two children, who are also employed in academia, join him in his post-political life.