Moudud Ahmed (; 24 May 1940 – 16 March 2021) was a Bangladeshi lawyer and politician. He was a standing committee member of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. Ahmed was elected as a Jatiya Sangsad member five times from the Noakhali-1 and Noakhali-5 constituencies.

Ahmed served as the post master general of Bangladesh after independence. Since the 1980s, he held numerous political offices for short stints in the government of Bangladesh, including Deputy Prime Minister (1979–1980 and 1986–1988), Prime Minister of Bangladesh (1988–1989), Vice President of Bangladesh (1989–1990), and Minister of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs (2001–2006).

Early life and career

Ahmed was born on 24 May 1940 to a Bengali Muslim family of Bhuiyans in the village of Manikpur in Noakhali District, Bengal Province. He was the sixth child of Maulana Momtazuddin Ahmad and Begum Ambia Khatun. His father was a leading Islamic scholar of Hadith who taught at Calcutta Alia Madrasa, Presidency College, Calcutta and Dacca University. Ahmed obtained his BA and MA in political science from the University of Dacca. He was called to the English Bar at Lincoln's Inn in London in 1966. After returning to Dacca, he joined the legal team of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman during the Agartala Conspiracy Case trial in 1968. He accompanied the Bengali delegation led by Sheikh Mujib to the Rawalpindi Round Table Conference with Field Marshal Ayub Khan in 1969. Ahmed was the first Postmaster General of Bangladesh Post Office after the Independence of Bangladesh.

Ahmed was jailed on orders from Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in December 1974, but was later released. He was elected to parliament from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) in 1979. Ahmed's feud with Shah Azizur Rahman led to him being sacked by Zia. Ahmed joined the newly formed Jatiya Party of Lt General Hussain Muhammad Ershad. He was appointed again as Deputy Prime Minister in the cabinet and held the portfolios of the Industries Ministry and the Communications Ministry. President Ershad appointed Ahmed as Prime Minister in 1988. Serving for a year in the office of premier, he oversaw relief operations during the catastrophic 1988 Bangladesh flood. Ahmed was invited for talks with several Western leaders, including with Margaret Thatcher at 10 Downing Street. However, Ershad replaced Ahmed with the pro-Chinese Left-winger Kazi Zafar Ahmed in 1989. Ahmed was elevated to the post of Vice President of Bangladesh in 1989. He resigned in December 1990 to make way for Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed to become acting president and lead the transition to parliamentary democracy.

After serving a stint in prison following Ershad's ousting, Ahmed was invited by Khaleda Zia to return to the BNP in 1996. He was elected to parliament while in jail in 1996. He was reelected for the fifth time in 2001. Begum Zia appointed him as Minister of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs in 2001.

Ahmed joined his party in boycotting the 2014 general election.

Under the Awami League administration, Ahmed and his brother Monzur faced charges of illegally occupying their properties in the posh Gulshan area of Dhaka. They maintained that the case was politically motivated. On 8 June 2017, he was evicted from his house by Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha. Ahmed described his eviction as "political vengeance" by the Awami League government. Former Prime Minister and chairperson of Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Khaleda Zia, condemned the move to evict him. He had lived in the house for more than 40 years.

Personal life and family

Ahmed was married to Hasna Jasimuddin Moudud, a daughter of the Bengali poet Jasimuddin. They raised a daughter, poet Ana Kashfiya Moudud. Their eldest son, Asif Momtaz Moudud, died at the age of 3. Another son, Aman Momtaj Moudud, died of dengue fever in 2015.

Ahmed was a practicing barrister in the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. He was a fellow at Heidelberg University in Germany and a visiting fellow at Harvard University in the United States.

Death

On 30 December 2020, Ahmed was hospitalized in Dhaka due to a decrease in haemoglobin levels and eventually suffered a stroke. He died a month later on 16 March at the age of 80.

On 12 March 2022, Ahmed's wife, Hasna Jasimuddin Moudud, claimed that Ahmed was assassinated.

Publications

Ahmed is the author of Twelve books. Publications include:

  • Shongshod-e Ja Bolechhi, Dhaka: The University Press Limited, 2006,
  • South Asia: Crisis of Development-The Case of Bangladesh, Dhaka: The University Press Limited, 2003
  • Democracy and the Challenge of Development: a Study of Politics and Military Interventions in Bangladesh, Dhaka: The University Press Limited, 1995
  • Bangladesh: Era of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Dhaka: The University Press Limited, 1983,
  • Bangladesh: Constitutional Quest for Autonomy, South Asian Institute of Heidelberg University, 1976 and University Press Limited, Dhaka, 1979
  • Chaloman Itihas, the book to inform the next generation the history of the country particularly the history of HM Ershad government.

References

Further reading

  • Md Mahmudul Hasan, "At Heidelberg with Moudud Ahmad." New Age (Bangladesh), 20 March 2021