Abu Ahsan Mohammad Shamsul Arefin Siddique (26 October 1953 – 13 March 2025) was a Bangladeshi academic who served as the 27th

vice-chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth of Nati ...

of the

University of Dhaka The University of Dhaka (), also known as Dhaka University (DU), is a public university, public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Established in 1921, it is the oldest active university in the country. The University of Dhaka w ...

during 2009–2017. On 15 July 2020, he was appointed the chairman of the board of directors of

Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) is the news agency of Bangladesh. BSS was established on 1 January 1972 by the Government of Bangladesh soon after the Bangladesh Liberation War. Mahbub Morshed is the current managing director and chief editor o ...

(BSS). He was also president of the board of trustees of the Bangladesh National Museum.

Early life and education

Siddique was born in

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

on 26 October 1953. His family is originally from Raipura Upazila,

Narsingdi District Narsingdi District () is a district in central Bangladesh. It is located 50 km north-east of Dhaka, the Bangladeshi capital. It is a part of Dhaka Division. The district is famous for its textile craft industry. Narsingdi is bordered by Kish ...

. He graduated in Science from

Dhaka College Dhaka College (), informally known as DC, is a public educational institution of Bangladesh located in Dhanmondi, Dhaka. It is one of the oldest educational institutions in the subcontinent. It offers Honours degree, honours and Master's degree ...

in 1973. He annexed his master's in mass communication and journalism from the

and topped the list in his batch. He earned his Ph.D degree in televised teaching in 1985 from the

University of Mysore The University of Mysore is a public state university in Mysore, Karnataka, India. The university was founded during the reign of Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV and the premiership of Sir M. Visvesvaraya. The university is recognised by t ...

in India under Indian Government scholarship.

Career

Siddique joined the University of Dhaka in 1980, and his teaching career spans about four decades. He had also taught and trained at the universities of

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, and at

Cornell Cornell University is a private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson White in 1865. Since ...

. Dr. Siddique was a visiting fellow at the

Southern Illinois University at Carbondale Southern Illinois University (SIU) is a public research university in Carbondale, Illinois, United States. Chartered in 1869, SIU is the oldest and flagship campus of the Southern Illinois University Southern Illinois University is a system ...

. He was decorated with the '

Order of Civil Merit The Royal Order of Civil Merit (; Abbreviation, Abbr.: OMC) is a knighthood and one of the three preeminent Order of merit, orders of merit bestowed by the Kingdom of Spain, alongside the Order of Charles III (established in 1771) and the Order ...

' by the King of Spain for his extraordinary contribution to the expansion of education, empowerment of women, and reduction of poverty. Siddique was a chairman of the

and member of the governing body of the

Press Institute of Bangladesh Press Institute of Bangladesh or PIB is an autonomous national research institute that provides training to Journalists and carries out research on mass media and journalism in Bangladesh and is located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Faruk Wasif is the pr ...

. In January 2009, Siddique was appointed vice-chancellor of the University of Dhaka. He received a death threat from

Ansarullah Bangla Team The Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) (), also known as Ansar-al Islam Bangladesh or Ansar Bangla is a militant organization in Bangladesh, implicated in many terrorist activities including attacks and murders of atheist bloggers from 2013 to 2015. B ...

in 2015. He called on diplomatic ties between Bangladesh and Pakistan to be severed for allegedly interfering in the trial of war criminals from the

Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War (, ), also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, was an War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalism, Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in East Pakistan, which res ...

. His car was attacked in 2016 by activists of

Bangladesh Chhatra League Bangladesh Chhatra League, simply Chhatra League (), is the student wing of the political party, Bangladesh Awami League, founded by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on 4 January 1948. The organisation is banned and listed as a terrorist organisation in B ...

after the university published a souvenir book on the 95th anniversary of the University which called

Ziaur Rahman Ziaur Rahman (19 January 193630 May 1981) was a Bangladeshi military officer and politician who served as the sixth president of Bangladesh from 1977 until Assassination of Ziaur Rahman, his assassination in 1981. One of the leading figures of t ...

the first President of Bangladesh. He oversaw the attachment of seven colleges to the University of Dhaka. Siddique served as the vice-chancellor until August, who was appointed by the government of Bangladesh, 2017 and was the longest-serving vice-chancellor of the University of Dhaka. He was a member of the search committee that selected his replacement. He was succeeded by Md. Akhtaruzzaman who was appointed by the government of Bangladesh, ignoring the search committee formed by the University senate. He returned to teaching at the Department of Mass Communication and Journalism. He retired from active teaching in 2020. On 15 July 2020, Siddique was appointed the chairman of the board of directors of

(BSS). Siddique was the president of the board of trustees of the Bangladesh National Museum.

Death

On 6 March 2025, Siddique suddenly fell over and hit his head while speaking at the

Dhaka Club The Dhaka Club (formerly spelled as Dacca Club) is the oldest recreation organisation and the largest of elite clubs in Dhaka. Originally it was an all-white association in British India. Description Dhaka club has been described as "an oasis of ...

. He was taken to Ibrahim Cardiac Hospital in Dhaka and admitted to the intensive care unit. Siddique died of a stroke on 13 March, at the age of 71.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Siddique, A. A. M. S. Arefin 1953 births 2025 deaths Dhaka College alumni University of Dhaka alumni Academic staff of the University of Dhaka University of Mysore alumni Vice-chancellors of the University of Dhaka