AKM Maidul Islam (born 1940 or 1943; died 2018) was a Bangladeshi politician from Ulipur who served six terms in the

Bangladesh Parliament The Jatiya Sangsad (), often simply referred to as Sangsad and also known as is the unicameral Legislature, legislative body of Bangladesh. The current parliament of Bangladesh contains 350 seats, including 50 seats reserved exclusively for w ...

between 1979 and 2018. First elected as a

Bangladesh Nationalist Party The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (), popularly abbreviated as BNP (), is a major List of political parties in Bangladesh, political party in Bangladesh. It was founded on 1 September 1978 by President of Bangladesh, President Ziaur Rahman, wit ...

(BNP) member, he later defected to the Jatiya Party (JP), briefly returned to the BNP, and finally rejoined the JP. Islam held ministerial positions under presidents

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 ...

Abdus Sattar ʻAbd al-Sattār (ALA-LC romanization of ) is an Arabic Muslim male given name, built on the Arabic words '' ʻabd'' and ''al-Sattār''. The name means "servant of the Veiler (of sins)". Because the letter s is a sun letter, the letter l of the '' ...

, and

Hussain Muhammad Ershad Hussain Muhammad Ershad (1 February 1930 – 14 July 2019) was a Bangladeshi military officer, dictator and politician who served as President of Bangladesh, the president of Bangladesh from 1982 to 1990. He seized power as a result of a 1982 ...

at various times between 1979 and 1990.

Early life and education

AKM Maidul Islam was born in

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

, British India. Sources vary as to whether he was born on 29 May 1940 or 1 May 1943. His father was

Mohammad Abul Quasem Mohammad Abul Quasem () was a Bangladeshi politician and lawyer. He was a member of the 3rd National Assembly of Pakistan and the Finance Minister of East Pakistan during the Bangladesh Liberation War. Early life Abul Quasem was born in 1913 to ...

. After the partition of India, the family settled in Ulipur, East Pakistan, where his father would become a member of the 3rd National Assembly of Pakistan. Islam attended Ulipur Maharani Swarnamoyi School and College and matriculated from Matlab High School in Comilla in 1959. He completed his

Intermediate of Arts Intermediate Arts (IA) is an academic diploma awarded by a high school or junior college after the completion of 12th grade or equivalent in some countries like India and Nepal. However, as for Nepal, the usage of IA, ISc, and the like has become o ...

from Rajshahi Government College in 1961, and earned a master's degree in political science from the

University of Karachi The University of Karachi (; informally Karachi University, KU, or UoK) is a public research university located in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Established in June 1951 by an act of Parliament and as a successor to the University of Sindh (which is ...

in 1966.

Career

Islam first sought election to parliament, unsuccessfully, in

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

as a

National Awami Party (Bhashani) The National Awami Party (Bhashani) was a left wing political party in Bangladesh. History The National Awami Party (Bhashani) was established on 30 November 1967 when the National Awami Party split into two different fractions. The pro-Moscow f ...

candidate. He was elected to parliament from Rangpur-16 in 1979 as a

(BNP) candidate. He was appointed Minister of Posts, Telegraph, and Telephones in the Zia government in April 1979. In the Sattar government, he was retained in that position until February 1982. He was

Minister of Civil Aviation and Tourism The minister of civil aviation and tourism is the minister in charge of the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism in the government of Bangladesh. He is also the minister of all departments and agencies under the Ministry of Civil Aviation and T ...

from January 1982 to March 1982. On 6 April 1985, he and three other BNP ministers defected to the Jaitya Party of President

. He was elected to parliament from

Kurigram-3 Kurigram-3 is a constituency represented in the Jatiya Sangsad (National Parliament) of Bangladesh. Since 6 August 2024 the constituency is vacant. Boundaries The constituency encompasses Ulipur Upazila. History The constituency was created ...

in 1986 and 1988 as a candidate of the Jatiya Party (Ershad). In the Ershad government, he was Minister of Land Administration and Land Reforms from November 1985 to April 1986; Minister of Ports, Shipping, and Water Transport from July 1986 to March 1987; the minister of land again from March 1987 to September 1987; the minister of shipping again from September 1987 to November 1987; Minister of Jute and Textiles from September 1988 to September 1989; and Minister of Forests and Environment from September 1988 to January 1990. After the

1990 Bangladesh mass uprising The 1990 mass uprising, popularly known as ʼ90's Anti-Authoritarian Movement, was a democratic movement that took place on 4 December and led to the fall of General Hussain Muhammad Ershad in Bangladesh. The uprising was the result of a series ...

led to the fall of Ershad, Islam unsuccessfully stood for re-election in

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

as an independent. He then rejoined the BNP and was elected to parliament from Kurigram-3 in February 1996. Unable to hold his seat in June 1996, he returned to the Jatiya Party (Ershad) and was elected to parliament twice more, in 2008 and 2014.

Death

Selina Begum, his wife, predeceased him on 14 February 2016. They had two daughters and a son. Islam died on 11 May 2018 in

United Hospital Limited United Hospital Limited () is a private hospital in Gulshan-2, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Mr. Malik Talha Ismail Bari is the Managing Director & CEO of United Hospital Limited. United Hospital Limited along with Evercare Hospital Dhaka are considered h ...

, Dhaka, Bangladesh. He is buried at Banani graveyard in Dhaka.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Islam, AKM Maidul 1940s births 2018 deaths 2nd Jatiya Sangsad members 3rd Jatiya Sangsad members 4th Jatiya Sangsad members 6th Jatiya Sangsad members 9th Jatiya Sangsad members 10th Jatiya Sangsad members Bangladesh Jatiya Party politicians Bangladesh Nationalist Party politicians Burials at Banani Graveyard People from Kurigram District Rajshahi College alumni University of Karachi alumni