Abdul Hamid Chowdhury (; died 4 September 1969) was a

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

politician and

zamindar A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian was the official language; ''zamindar'' is the ...

who was the Speaker of the

East Pakistan Provincial Assembly The East Pakistan Provincial Assembly, known as the East Bengal Legislative Assembly between 1947 and 1955, was the provincial legislature of East Pakistan between 1947 and 1971. It was known as the East Bengal Assembly from 1947 to 1955 when the ...

from 1962 to 1968.

Early life and family

Chowdhury was born into a

Bengali Muslim Bengali Muslims (; ) 'Mussalman'' also used in this work./ref> are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising over 70% of the global Bengali population, they are the second-largest ...

'' family in the village of Nagbari in

Tangail Tangail (, ) is a city of Tangail District in central Bangladesh. A significant city in Bangladesh, Tangail lies on the bank of the Louhajang River, northwest of Dhaka, the nation's capital. Etymology ''Tangail'' originates from the Beng ...

Mymensingh district Mymensingh District () is a district in Mymensingh Division Bangladesh, and is bordered in the north by Meghalaya, India and the Garo Hills, in the south by Gazipur District, in the east by the districts of Netrokona and Kishoreganj and in ...

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal until 1937, later the Bengal Province, was the largest of all three presidencies of British India during Company rule in India, Company rule and later a Provinces o ...

. His only son,

Abu Sayeed Chowdhury Abu Sayeed Chowdhury (31 January 1921 – 2 August 1987) was a jurist and the second president of Bangladesh. Besides that, he held the positions of the chairman of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, the vice-chancellor of the Uni ...

, was a former

President of Bangladesh President of Bangladesh (POB), officially the President of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is the head of state of Bangladesh and commander-in-chief of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. The role of the president has changed three times since ...

. His grandson,

Abul Hasan Chowdhury Abul Hasan Chowdhury (born 15 April 1951; known as Kaiser) is a Bangladeshi politician. He served as the State Minister of Foreign Affairs and a Jatiya Sangsad member representing the Tangail-1 constituency for two terms. Early life and educat ...

, was the former State Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Career

Chowdhury served as the Deputy President of the

Bengal Legislative Council The Bengal Legislative Council ( was the legislative council of Bengal Presidency. It was the legislature of the Bengal Presidency during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. After reforms were adopted in 1937, it served as the upper house of ...

from 1940 to 1947. After the partition of Bengal in 1947, he served in

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

as the deputy high commissioner and as the dean of diplomatic corps on behalf of the

Dominion of Pakistan The Dominion of Pakistan, officially Pakistan, was an independent federal dominion in the British Commonwealth of Nations, which existed from 14 August 1947 to Pakistan Day, 23 March 1956. It was created by the passing of the Indian Independence ...

from 1951 to 1953. He served as the Speaker of the

between 1962 and 1968. Chowdhury was also a member of the Mymensingh District Board for 40 consecutive years, eventually becoming its chairman. He was the first Muslim president of

Mymensingh Zilla School Mymensingh Zilla School (MZS) is a public secondary school for boys, located in Mymensingh, Bangladesh. The institution was established in 1846 during the British Raj under the name Hardinge School and was officially renamed Mymensingh Zilla Schoo ...

's committee and had also served as the director of the

National Bank of Pakistan National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) is a Pakistani government-owned multinational commercial bank which is a subsidiary of State Bank of Pakistan. It is headquartered in Karachi, Pakistan. As of December 2022, it has over 1,500 branches across Paki ...

Death

Chowdhury died on 4 September 1969 in

East Pakistan East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chowdhury, Abdul Hamid 1969 deaths 20th-century Bengalis Bengali politicians Politicians from East Pakistan People from Kalihati Upazila Speakers of the Provincial Assembly of East Pakistan