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Kazi Zafar Ahmed

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Kazi Zafar Ahmad
কাজী জাফর আহমেদ
8th Prime Minister of Bangladesh
In office
12 August 1989 – 6 December 1990
PresidentHossain Mohammad Ershad
DeputyShah Moazzem Hossain
Preceded byMoudud Ahmed
Succeeded byKhaleda Zia
Deputy Prime Minister of Bangladesh
In office
27 March 1988 – 12 August 1989
PresidentHossain Mohammad Ershad
Prime MinisterMoudud Ahmed
Preceded byMoudud Ahmed
Succeeded byNo successor
In office
9 July 1986 – 10 August 1987
PresidentHossain Mohammad Ershad
Prime MinisterMizanur Rahman Chowdhury
Preceded byJamal Uddin Ahmad
Succeeded byShah Moazzem Hossain
6th Leader of the House
In office
12 August 1989 – 6 December 1990
Preceded byMoudud Ahmed
Succeeded byKhaleda Zia
Personal details
Born(1939-07-01)1 July 1939
Chauddagram, Bengal, British India
Died27 August 2015(2015-08-27) (aged 76)
Dhaka, Bangladesh
Political partyJatiya Party (1984–2013)
Jatiya Party (Zafar) (2013–2015)
Other political
affiliations		National Awami Party (NAP), United Peoples Party-UPP (before 1984)
Alma materUniversity of Dhaka

Kazi Zafar Ahmad (/ˈkɑːzi ˈzɑːfɑːr ˈɑːxmɛd/ ⓘ; Bengali: কাজী জাফর আহমেদ; 1 July 1939[1] – 27 August 2015)[2] was a Bangladeshi politician of the Jatiya Party,[3] who was the Prime Minister of Bangladesh from 1989 to 1990.[4]

Early life

[edit]

Ahmed was born in 1939,[5] in village: Kazi Bari Cheora Chauddagram Upazila, Comilla, British India (now Bangladesh), the son of Cheora Kazi Bari.[6] He was a freedom fighter and a student leader at the University of Dhaka,[5] where he obtained a M.A. degree in history.[7]

Political career

[edit]

Ahmed was a Maoist. From 1962 to 1963 he served as the General Secretary of the East Pakistan Chattra Union. In 1966 he joined the Maoist Communist Party and became a labour leader, mainly concentrating in organising the workers in the Tongi industrial area.[5] During the Bangladesh Liberation war he worked for Mujibnagar government.[citation needed]

After independence, he joined the National Awami Party of Maulana Bhashani and became its Secretary General. He supported the ideology of Islamic socialism by Maulana Bhashani.[8] He declared that he would form a responsible opposition party. Later he formed the United Peoples' Party (UPP) in 1974 with Captain Abdul Halim Chowdhury.[5] He worked with the People's Democratic Party under President Ziaur Rahman after he assumed the presidency through a referendum.[5] Ahmed became Minister of Education.[5]

Ahmed also played a leading role in the anti military role of President Hussain Muhammad Ershad. But the period since 1975 in Bangladesh witnessed realignment of politics and leaders leaving their old parties and joining new ones. Ahmed dissolved his UPP and joined President Ershad's Jatiya Party.[9] On 3 July 1985 he was made a Minister in the cabinet of President Ershad.[10] Ershad on 3 March 1988 made Ahmed the deputy prime minister under Prime Minister Moudud Ahmed.[9] He defended the decision of Ershad to make Islam the state religion of Bangladesh as move against fundamentalism on 6 June 1988.[11] He served in the Ershad Government as Minister of Commerce from 1986 to 1989.[12] In August 1989 he was appointed prime minister replacing Moudud Ahmed who was made vice-president.[13] He served as the prime minister from August 1989 to 6 December 1990.[12] He fled to India after Ershad resigned from power.[12] He became known as Sugar Zafar for his role in the theft of a sugar shipment.[14] Ahmed criticised Ershad for joining the Bangladesh Awami League government in 1997 and created his own party called Jatiya Dal,[15] which joined the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party. Ershad was imprisoned since he lost power and was freed in 1996 after Bangladesh Awami League came to power.[16]

Ahmed was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment by a Dhaka court in November 1999 on corruption charges related to the misappropriation of funds meant for an orphanage.[14][12] He moved to Australia and successfully applied for asylum.[12] In Australia he was able to access government disability pension for the treatment of his kidney.[14] John Howard, Prime Minister of Australia, called an inquiry into how Ahmed was able to secure asylum.[14]

Ahmed competed in the 2008 Bangladesh General Election from the Comilla-11.[17] Ahmed, the presidium member of Jatiya Party, criticised Ershad for agreeing to join the 2014 Bangladesh election organised by Bangladesh Awami League led coalition government.[18] On 5 May 2013 he went on the stage at a Hefajat-e Islam rally in Motijheel.[19] In 2013 he was suspended from Jatiya Party by Ershad and a few hours later Ahmed tried to expel Ershad from the Jatiya Party,[20] after which he formed his own faction of Jatiya Party.[21] Golam Moshi joined the Ahmed faction of Jatiya Party.[22] In January 2014 he joined the Bangladesh Nationalist Party led 20-party alliance with his faction of Jatiya Party.[2][21]

Personal life

[edit]

Ahmed was married to Momtaz Begum. They had three daughters, Kazi Joya Ahmed, Kazi Sonia Ahmed, and Kazi Rona Ahmed.[23]

Death

[edit]

Ahmed died on 27 August 2015 in United Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh.[5]

References

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  1. ^ সর্বশেষ খবর. Jugantor (in Bengali).
  2. ^ a b "Jatiya Party leader Kazi Zafar passes away". The Daily Star. 27 August 2015. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  3. ^ "Kazi Zafar Ahmed passes away". Banglanews24.com. 26 August 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  4. ^ "Kazi Zafar Ahmed passes away". Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha. Archived from the original on 16 February 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g "Jatiya Party faction leader Kazi Zafar Ahmed dies at the age of 76". bdnews24.com. 27 August 2015. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  6. ^ "Kazi Zafar's birthday today". The New Nation. 1 July 2008.
  7. ^ "Remembering Kazi Zafar Ahmed". Daily Sun. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  8. ^ "The declining left - Bangladesh expects more". The Daily Star. 6 February 2017. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  9. ^ a b Rahman, Syedur (2010). Historical Dictionary of Bangladesh. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810874534.
  10. ^ "Around the World; Bangladesh Appoints 7 Ministers to Cabinet". The New York Times. AP. 4 July 1985. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  11. ^ Mutalib, Hussin; Hashmi, Taj ul-Islam (2016). Islam, Muslims and the Modern State: Case-Studies of Muslims in Thirteen Countries. Springer. p. 116. ISBN 9781349142088.
  12. ^ a b c d e "Safe haven here for corrupt ex-Bangladeshi PM". The Sydney Morning Herald. 13 June 2003. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
  13. ^ Preston, Ian (2005) [First published 2001]. A Political Chronology of Central, South and East Asia. Europa Publications. p. 22. ISBN 9781857431148.
  14. ^ a b c d "Bangladesh ex-PM in refugee row". BBC News. 13 June 2003. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
  15. ^ Banks, Arthur S.; Day, Alan J.; Muller, Thomas C. (2016). Political Handbook of the World 1998. Springer. p. 75. ISBN 9781349149513.
  16. ^ Riaz, Ali (2016). Bangladesh: A Political History since Independence. I.B.Tauris. pp. 171–172. ISBN 978-1-78076-741-3.
  17. ^ "EC in deep soup as court clears more JS polls candidates". The Daily Star. 19 December 2008. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  18. ^ "Ershad back-flips". The Daily Star. 12 April 2013. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  19. ^ "Aim was to oust govt". The Daily Star. 22 May 2013. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  20. ^ Rahman, Syedur (2010). Historical Dictionary of Bangladesh. Scarecrow Press. pp. ix. ISBN 9780810874534.
  21. ^ a b "Kazi Zafar passes away". Prothom Alo. 27 August 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  22. ^ "Govt names Raushon's political secretary Golam Moshi Ambassador to Saudi Arabia". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  23. ^ "Former prime minister Kazi Zafar Ahmed laid to rest". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
Political offices
Preceded by Prime Minister of Bangladesh
1989–1990 		Succeeded by
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