Abul Hasanat Abdullah (born 10 December 1944) is a

Bangladesh Awami League The Awami League, officially known as Bangladesh Awami League, is a major List of political parties in Bangladesh, political party in Bangladesh. The oldest existing political party in the country, the party played the leading role in achievin ...

politician and a former

Jatiya Sangsad 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 ...

member representing the

Barisal-1 Barisal-1 is a constituency represented in the Jatiya Sangsad (National Parliament) of Bangladesh. Since 6 August 2024 the constituency is vacant. Boundaries The constituency encompasses Agailjhara Upazila, Agailjhara and Gournadi Upazila, Gou ...

constituency for five terms. He is an Executive Committee Member of Bangladesh Awami League Central Committee.

Background

Abdullah was born on 10 December 1944 to the

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 ...

Serniabat family of Sheral, Agailjhara in the

Backergunge District Backergunge, Backergunje, Bakarganj, or Bakerganj is a former district of British Bengal, East Pakistan and Bangladesh. It was the southernmost district of the Dacca Division. The district was located in the swampy lowlands of the vast river delta ...

of the

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 ...

. The family were direct descendants of Emperor

Sher Shah Suri Sher Shah Suri (born Farid al-Din Khan; 1472 or 1486 – 22 May 1545), also known by his title Sultan Adil (), was the ruler of Bihar from 1530 to 1540, and Sultan of Hindustan from 1540 until his death in 1545. He defeated the Mughal Empire, ...

. His father,

Abdur Rab Serniabat Abdur Rob Serniabat (4 April 1921-1975) was a Bangladeshi politician and the former water resources minister. He was the brother-in-law of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, founding father of Bangladesh, and the maternal uncle of Sheikh Hasina, the five-t ...

, was a former minister in the

second The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...

third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...

and fourth Mujib ministries. Abdullah's mother Sheikh Amena Begum belonged to the Sheikh family of Tungipara and was the brother of

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (17 March 1920 – 15 August 1975), also known by the honorific Bangabandhu, was a Bangladeshi politician, revolutionary, statesman and activist who was the founding president of Bangladesh. As the leader of Bangl ...

. Abdullah's father, siblings, cousin and son were killed during the

assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the first president of Bangladesh, was assassinated along with most of his family members during the early hours of 15 August 1975 by a group of Bangladesh Army personnel who invaded his Bangabandhu Memorial Museum, re ...

, whilst his mother, wife and other siblings were injured. His younger brother, Abul Khair Abdullah, is also a politician.

Career

Hasanat was elected Upazila Chairman in Barisal in 1973. In 1975, his father, Abdur Rab Serniabat, was killed in the

15 August 1975 Bangladesh coup d'état Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number) *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak album), 2007 * ''15'' (Phatfish album), 2008 * ' ...

. His mother and siblings were also killed in the coup. He and his family members fled Bangladesh. The new Government of Bangladesh declared his land vested property and took over them. In 2001, the land was returned to him. Gournadi Pourasabha Bangladesh Nationalist Party president Hannan Sharif announced the 25 decimals of the property belonged to

Roads and Highways Department The Roads and Highways Department () is an Government agency, agency of the Government of Bangladesh responsible for the construction and maintenance of highways and bridges across Bangladesh. The department is a subsidiary of the Road Transport ...

according to the records of the Land Revenue Department. Sharif started building the local office of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party office with the permission of Upazila Nirbahi Officer Mahfuzur Rahman. Hasanat was first elected as member of parliament from

in 1991. In January 2000, he was appointed member of the parliamentary standing committee for home ministry. He served as the chief whip of parliament at the Awami league government from 1996 to 2001. In October 2002, during

Operation Clean Heart Operation Clean Heart was an anti-crime operation jointly carried out by Bangladesh Army, Bangladesh Navy, Bangladesh Rifles, Bangladesh Police and Bangladesh Ansar members in Bangladesh. The operation was carried by the government of Bangla ...

, Abdullah's house in Barisal City was raided by security personal led by Major Akbor and Major Shariar. The police recovered two guns, bullets, Tk 613 thousand in cash, gold ornaments, and 355 blank freedom fighter certificate. Hasanat was the general secretary of Barisal District unit of

. On 12 November 2007, his properties from his house in 25, Kalabagan Lake Circus Road in Dhanmondi were attached to Dhanmondi Police Station on court orders. In 2008, Hasanat was nominated by Bangladesh Awami League in Barisal-1 and Barisal-2. His nomination was opposed by local activists of Bangladesh Awami League, who wanted more popular candidates. On 11 June 2009, Awami League government dropped 62 legal cases against Awami League politicians including four against Hasanat. On 24 March 2014, Hasanat was accused of facilitating the victory of Golam Mortuja Khan in the Upazlia Chairman election through vote rigging. Hasanat was elected to

from Barisal-1 constituency in 2014, 2018 and 2024. On 18 January 2018, he was made the convener of the National Committee on Chittagong Hill Tracts with the rank of a government minister.

Personal life

Hasanat's son, Serniabat Sadiq Abdullah, was elected mayor of Barisal in July 2018. The other son, Moin Abdullah, was arrested in October 2024.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abdullah, Abul Hasanat Living people 1944 births Politicians from Barisal Division Awami League politicians 5th Jatiya Sangsad members 7th Jatiya Sangsad members 10th Jatiya Sangsad members 11th Jatiya Sangsad members 12th Jatiya Sangsad members Serniabat family