Shahabuddin Ahmed (1 February 1930 – 19 March 2022) was a Bangladeshi statesman who served as the president of Bangladesh from 1996 to 2001 and as the chief justice of Bangladesh from 1990 to 1995. He retired from office on 14 November 2001.
Philanthropy
Ahmed was chairman of the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society, from August 1978 to April 1982 in addition to his duties as a judge of the Supreme Court. He set up a number of rural hospitals maternity centres, in particular, the Teligati Red Crescent Hospital, Netrakona which was financed by the Swiss Red Cross. He was a member of the Bangladesh government delegation to the 10th Conference of Foreign Ministers of the Islamic countries (OIC) held in Fez, Morocco in 1979 where the question of setting up an International Islamic Red Crescent Society was debated. On his initiative family planning and population control was included in the main function of the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society.
Personal life and legacy
Ahmed was married to Anowara Begum. Together they had two sons and three daughters including Sitara Parvin. Parvin, a professor of mass communication and journalism at the University of Dhaka, died on a road accident in the USA in 2005.
In 2008, a lake in Gulshan, Dhaka was named Rastrapati Bicharpati Shahabuddin Ahmed Park after Ahmed.
In February 2022, Ahmed was taken to the intensive care unit (ICU) of the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) due to an aging-associated disease. He died on 19 March at the age of 92. Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed Park in Gulshan was named after him.