Justice Abu Sadat Mohammad Sayem |
|
---|---|
আবু সাদাত মোহাম্মদ সায়েম | |
6th President of Bangladesh | |
In office 6 November 1975 – 21 April 1977 |
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Preceded by | Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad |
Succeeded by | Ziaur Rahman |
1st Chief Justice of Bangladesh | |
In office 12 January 1972 – 6 November 1975 |
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Preceded by | Position established |
Succeeded by | Mahmud Hussain |
Personal details | |
Born |
Rangpur, British India (now Bangladesh) |
29 March 1916
Died | 8 July 1997 Dhaka, Bangladesh |
(aged 81)
Political party | Awami League |
Alma mater |
Presidency College, Calcutta University of Calcutta |
Religion | Islam |
Justice Abu Sadat Mohammad Sayem (March 29, 1916 – July 8, 1997) was a Bangladeshi jurist and statesman. He was first Chief Justice of Bangladesh from 1972 to 1975. He became the fifth President of Bangladesh in the aftermath of the downfall of all India led hidden forces in Bangladesh by November 1975. He was made Chief Martial Law Administrator. Sayem presided over a cabinet headed by the three chiefs of the armed forces. The cabinet included civilian technocrats and politicians. Sayem resigned on grounds of ill health in April 1977, and was replaced by President Ziaur Rahman.
Sayem was born to reputed Muslim family in the district of Rangpur in the Bengal Presidency in British India on 29 March 1916. He attended the Rangpur District School and Carmichael College. He later attended Presidency College in Calcutta and graduated from the University Law College of Calcutta University.
He became a law graduate from the University Law College, Kolkata. He was enrolled as an advocate of the Calcutta High Court in 1944. After partition of India in 1947 and setting up of a High Court in Dhaka he shifted his practice to the Dhaka High Court and worked as a junior of veteran advocate Sher-e-Bangla AK Fazlul Huq.
Sayem was elected secretary and subsequently vice president of the Dhaka High Court Bar Association. He was a sponsor member of the East Pakistan Lawyers’ Association and was elected secretary, general secretary and vice president of the said organisation for different terms. He was also elected a member of the Local Board of the State Bank of Pakistan, Dhaka. He was a member of the East Pakistan Bar Council till his elevation to the Bench.
On 3 July 1962, Sayem was appointed a judge of the High Court of judicature in East Pakistan. In 1967, he was appointed a member of the Commission of Enquiry for finding out the causes of exodus and eviction of the members of the minority community. He was again appointed a member of the new Enquiry Commission formed for the same purpose. He was a member of the Delimitation Commission (1970) for delimitation of the constituencies, and had subsequently been a member of the Election Commission.