Abu Sayeed Chowdhury
| Abu Sayeed Chowdhury | |
|---|---|
| আবু সাঈদ চৌধুরী | |
 |
|
| 41st Chairman of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights | |
| Preceded by | Peter H. Kooijmans |
| Succeeded by | Héctor Charry-Samper |
| 3rd Minister of Foreign Affairs of People's Republic of Bangladesh | |
|
In office August 1975 – November 1975 |
|
| President | Sheikh Mujibur Rahman |
| Preceded by | Dr.Kamal Hossain |
| Succeeded by | Prof. Muhammad Shamsul Haque |
| 2nd President of Bangladesh | |
|
In office 12 January 1972 – 24 December 1973 |
|
| Prime Minister | Sheikh Mujibur Rahman |
| Preceded by | Sheikh Mujibur Rahman |
| Succeeded by | Mohammad Mohammadullah |
| Bangladesh High Commissioner to the United Kingdom | |
|
In office 1 August 1971 – 8 January 1972 |
|
| President | Sheikh Mujibur Rahman |
| Succeeded by | S.A. Sultan |
| Vice-chancellor of the University of Dhaka | |
|
In office 2 December 1969 – 20 January 1972 |
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| Preceded by | Dr. M Osman Ghani |
| Succeeded by | Dr. Muzaffar Ahmed Chowdhury |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
31 January 1921 Kalihati Upazila, Tangail District, Bengal Presidency, British India (now in Bangladesh) |
| Died | 2 August 1987 (aged 66) London, England |
| Political party | Awami League |
| Parents | Abdul Hamid Chowdhury |
| Education | |
| Religion | Islam |
Abu Sayeed Chowdhury (5 January 1921 – 2 August 1987) was a jurist and the second President of Bangladesh. Abu Sayeed Chowdhury was born on 5 January 1921 in a Zamindari (Landed) family of Nagbari in Tangail District. His family's old heritage and wealth is widely known. His father Abdul Hamid Chowdhury apart from being a Zamindar become the speaker of the East Pakistan Provincial Assembly later on in his life. Abdul Hamid Chowdhury was given the title "Khan Bahadur" by the British Empire, a title which he later renounced to give his voice to the movement against British atrocities and the British Empire.
Abu Sayeed Chowdhury graduated in 1940 from the Presidency College in Calcutta.He later on obtained his Masters and Law degrees from Calcutta University in 1942 and after the second world war he went to the United Kingdom to do Bar-at-Law in London.
Abu Sayeed Chowdhury joined the Calcutta High Court Bar in 1947, and after the partition of India he came over to Dhaka and joined the Dhaka High Court Bar (1948). He was a practising Advocate of Dhaka High Court and was a very renowned lawyer. In 1960, he was appointed as advocate general of East Pakistan.He was elevated to the post of Additional Judge of the Dhaka High Court on 7 July 1961 by the then President of Pakistan Field Marshal Mohammad Ayub Khan and was confirmed as Judge of the Dhaka High Court after two years. He had been a member of the Constitution Commission (1960–61) and chairman of the Bengali Development Board (1963–1968). Justice Chowdhury was appointed as vice-chancellor of Dhaka University in 1969. In 1971, while in Geneva he resigned from his post as vice-chancellor as a protest against the genocide in East Pakistan by the Pakistan army. From Geneva he went to the UK and became the special envoy of the provisional 'Mujibnagar' government. An umbrella organisation, 'The Council for the People's Republic of Bangladesh in UK' was formed on 24 April 1971 in Coventry, UK, by the expatriate Bengali's, and a five-member Steering Committee (central committee) of the Council was elected by them. He was the High Commissioner for the People's Republic of Bangladesh, London from 1 August 1971 to 8 January 1972)
After liberation, Justice Chowdhury returned to Dhaka and was elected as President of Bangladesh on 12 January 1972. On 10 April 1973, he was again elected as President of Bangladesh, and in the same year (December) he resigned and become special envoy for external relations with the rank of a minister. On 8 August 1975, he was included in the cabinet of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as minister of Ports and Shipping. After Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib was assassinated he became the minister for Foreign Affairs in the cabinet of President Khondakar Mostaq Ahmad (August 1975), a position which he held till 7 November 1975.
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