The New Resident of Bangabhaban : Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir
Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has been sworn in as the 23rd President of Bangladesh. Acting Speaker Barrister Kaiser Kamal administered the oath at the Darbar Hall of Bangabhaban at around 7:30pm on Friday. Prime Minister and BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman, his wife Dr Zubaida Rahman, former Acting President Hafiz Uddin Ahmed Bir Bikram, Chief Justice Zubair Rahman, Leader of the Opposition and Jamaat-e-Islami Amir Dr Shafiqur Rahman, former Chief Adviser to the interim government Professor Dr Muhammad Yunus, cabinet members, lawmakers and judges attended the ceremony. Senior government officials, diplomats, military officers, university vice-chancellors, political leaders, civil society representatives, media editors and journalists were also present.
The ceremony began with the recitation of the Holy Quran. After taking the oath, President Mirza Fakhrul signed the oath book and exchanged greetings with the guests. Cabinet Secretary Nasimul Gani conducted the ceremony. The new president is scheduled to pay tribute to the martyrs of the Liberation War by laying a wreath at the National Memorial in Savar on Saturday morning. His official activities at Bangabhaban will also begin on Saturday. Four ministers and two state ministers were also sworn in at Bangabhaban at 7:45pm. President Mirza Fakhrul administered their oaths.
Bangabhaban was decorated for the ceremonies, while security was tightened in and around the presidential complex. Members of the Special Security Force, Dhaka Metropolitan Police, RAB and intelligence agencies were deployed. Guests entered through designated passes and underwent security checks. Earlier on Friday, he paid tribute to BNP founder and former President Ziaur Rahman and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia at their graves in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar.
Political Career
Mirza Fakhrul was elected president through a direct vote of National Assembly members on Thursday. He resigned from the BNP secretary general’s post, membership of the National Standing Committee and the position of local government minister before taking office as president. Born on January 26, 1948, in Thakurgaon, Mirza Fakhrul is the son of lawyer and former lawmaker Mirza Ruhul Amin and Mirza Fatema Amin. He completed his higher secondary education at Dhaka College before earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in economics from the University of Dhaka. He became active in student politics and served as general secretary of the Salimullah Muslim Hall unit of the then East Pakistan Students Union. During the 1969 mass uprising, he served as president of the organisation’s Dhaka University unit.
After completing his studies, he passed the BCS examination in 1972 and joined the education cadre. He taught economics at Dhaka College and later at several government colleges. In 1979, during the Ziaur Rahman government, he became personal secretary to then Deputy Prime Minister SA Bari. He returned to teaching after Bari resigned following the 1982 change of government. He later left teaching and entered electoral politics. He was elected chairman of Thakurgaon Municipality in the 1988 election. He joined the BNP during the anti-autocracy movement against Hussain Muhammad Ershad.
He became president of the BNP’s Thakurgaon district unit in 1992 and also served as vice-president of the party’s Krishak Dal. He contested the Thakurgaon-1 constituency in the 1991 and 1996 national elections but was defeated. In the 2001 election, he defeated Awami League candidate Ramesh Chandra Sen in Thakurgaon-1 and entered parliament. He later served as state minister for agriculture and state minister for civil aviation and tourism. He was defeated in the 2008 election. In the 2018 national election, he contested from Thakurgaon-1 and Bogura-6 and won from Bogura-6, but did not take the oath as an MP. He became BNP senior joint secretary general in 2009. After the death of party secretary general Khandaker Delwar Hossain in 2011, he became acting secretary general. He was elected BNP secretary general on March 30, 2016, and held the position until becoming president.
Years of Political Struggle
President Mirza Fakhrul spent years facing arrests, court cases and imprisonment during BNP’s opposition campaigns. He was jailed at least 11 times and spent nearly three and a half years in prison. He faced cases related to vandalism, obstruction of police duties, alleged sabotage and other political activities. He was also repeatedly placed on remand. During the imprisonment of former BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and the absence of PM Tarique Rahman in London, Mirza Fakhrul led the party through a difficult period.
He was arrested several times during political movements between 2012 and 2015. He was also jailed shortly after becoming BNP secretary general in 2016. In December 2022, he was detained from his Uttara residence before a BNP divisional rally. He was again arrested by detective police in October 2023, according to the account of his political career. He also faced tear gas, sound grenades and attacks on his convoy during street programmes. Despite repeated arrests, legal cases and political pressure, He continued his political activities with a reputation for calmness and restraint. His long political career has now led him to the country’s highest constitutional office.
