Bangabandhu Father of The Nation Sheikh Mujibur Rahman |
|
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শেখ মুজিবুর রহমান | |
1st and 4th President of Bangladesh | |
In office 11 April 1971 – 12 January 1972 |
|
Prime Minister | Tajuddin Ahmad |
Preceded by | Position established |
Succeeded by | Nazrul Islam (Acting) |
In office 25 January 1975 – 15 August 1975 |
|
Prime Minister | Muhammad Mansur Ali |
Preceded by | Mohammad Mohammadullah |
Succeeded by | Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad |
2nd Prime Minister of Bangladesh | |
In office 12 January 1972 – 24 January 1975 |
|
President |
Abu Sayeed Chowdhury Mohammad Mohammadullah |
Preceded by | Tajuddin Ahmad |
Succeeded by | Muhammad Mansur Ali |
Personal details | |
Born |
Tungipara, Bengal Presidency, British India (now in Bangladesh) |
17 March 1920
Died | 15 August 1975 Dhaka, Bangladesh |
(aged 55)
Nationality | Bangladeshi |
Political party | Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League (1975) |
Other political affiliations |
All-India Muslim League (Before 1949) Awami League (1949–1975) |
Spouse(s) | Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib |
Relations | See Sheikh–Wazed family |
Children |
Sheikh Hasina Sheikh Rehana Sheikh Kamal Sheikh Jamal Sheikh Rasel |
Alma mater |
Maulana Azad College University of Dhaka |
Religion | Islam |
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (Bengali: শেখ মুজিবুর রহমান; Bengali pronunciation: [Shekh Mujibur Rôhman]) (17 March 1920 – 15 August 1975) was the founding leader of Bangladesh. He served twice as the country's President and was its strongman premier between 1972 and 1975. Rahman was the leader of the Awami League. He is popularly known as the Bangabandhu (Friend of Bengal). He is credited as the central figure in Bangladesh's liberation movement and is considered the founding father of Bangladesh. His daughter Sheikh Hasina is the current Prime Minister of Bangladesh.
An advocate of socialism, Rahman rose with the ranks of the Awami League and East Pakistani politics as a charismatic and forceful orator. He became popular for his opposition to the ethnic and institutional discrimination of Bengalis in Pakistan, who compromised the majority of the state's population. At the heightening of sectional tensions, he outlined a 6-point autonomy plan and was jailed by the regime of Field Marshal Ayub Khan for treason. Rahman led the Awami League to win the first democratic election of Pakistan in 1970. Despite gaining a majority, the League was not invited by the ruling military junta to form a government. As civil disobedience erupted across East Pakistan, Rahman announced the Bangladeshi struggle for independence during a landmark speech on 7 March 1971. On 26 March 1971, the Pakistan Army responded to the mass protests with Operation Searchlight, in which Prime Minister-elect Rahman was arrested and flown to solitary confinement in West Pakistan, while Bengali civilians, students, intellectuals, politicians and military defectors were murdered as part of the 1971 Bangladesh genocide. After Bangladesh's liberation, Rahman was released from Pakistani custody and returned to Dhaka in January 1972.