Annisul Huq (27 September 1952 – 30 November 2017) was a

Bangladeshi Bangladeshis ( ) are the citizens and nationals of Bangladesh, a South Asian country centred on the transnational historical region of Bengal along the Bay of Bengal, eponymous bay. Bangladeshi nationality law, Bangladeshi citizenship was fo ...

entrepreneur, television show host and the mayor of

mayor of north dhaka The Mayor of North Dhaka is the highest administrative officer of Dhaka North City Corporation. The Mayor's office manages all civic services, government property management, and most government agency operations in the city. In addition, the may ...

Early life and education

He was born on 27 September 1952, Sonapur at

Sonagazi Sonagazi () is an upazila (sub-district) of Feni District in Chittagong Division, Bangladesh, located on the coast of the Bay of Bengal. At the 2022 census, its population was 290,000, making it the second most populous upazila in Feni District. ...

in Feni to Shariful Huq and Rowshan Ara. His father was an official of the

Bangladesh Ansar The Bangladesh Ansar and Village Defence Party (; also known as the Ansar Bahini or Ansar VDP) is a paramilitary auxiliary force responsible for the preservation of internal security and law enforcement in Bangladesh. It is administered by the ...

. He passed SSC from Dinajpur Zilla School in 1970 and intermediate from Govt Science College. He completed his bachelor's degree from the

University of Rajshahi The University of Rajshahi (), also known as Rajshahi University (RU), is a public research university located in Rajshahi, Bangladesh. It is the second oldest and third largest university in Bangladesh. The university's 59 departments are or ...

and had a master's in economics from the

University of Chittagong The University of Chittagong () also known as Chittagong University (CU), is a public research university located in Chittagong, Bangladesh. It was established on 18 November 1966. It is the fifth oldest university of Bangladesh. Having an area ...

Career

Television

Annisul Huq was a regular host on

Bangladesh Television Bangladesh Television (), commonly known by its acronym BTV (), is the state-owned television network of Bangladesh. The network was originally established as the East Pakistan branch of Pakistan Television Corporation, Pakistan Television in 1 ...

in the early 1980s. He hosted interviews with politically significant personalities.

Business

Annisul Huq established his own business,

Mohammadi Group Mohammadi Group () is a Bangladeshi diversified conglomerate based in Dhaka with a focus on the garments industry. It was founded by Annisul Huq. Rubana Huq is the Chairperson of Mohammadi Group. Navidul Huq is a Managing Director of the Moham ...

in 1986, and was the chairperson of the company until his death. As of 2007, the group had 7,000 employees in the textile and garments sector. The conglomerate is also involved in real estate, IT, a power generation company that directly contributes to the national grid and a distribution company that represents multiple foreign television channels. The group has an independent TV channel named Nagorik. Annisul Huq served as the president of several apex bodies including the

South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is the regional intergovernmental organization and geopolitical union of states in South Asia. Its member states are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, ...

(SAARC) Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), Federation of the Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) and Independent Power Producers Association.

Politics

Annisul Huq was elected the mayor of Dhaka North City Corporation on ticket of

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 ...

in the city corporation election of 2015. He was a surprise pick by the Awami League as no other leaders of the party stood for the position. According to the affidavits submitted to the Election Commission in March 2015, he had amassed a net worth of US$3.25 million. As mayor, Annisul Huq promised to build Dhaka into a clean, green and safe city, although he received some flak for his involvement of foreigners. 20,000 illegal billboards were removed as part of the clean-up project. Mayor Annisul Huq said he would not put up with resistance from vested interests in his clean-up efforts. Annisul Huq also promised to reduce corruption among government employees.

Personal life

Annisul Huq's younger brother General Abu Belal Mohammad Shafiul Huq was the 15th chief of the

Bangladesh Army The Bangladesh Army () is the land warfare branch, and the largest component of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. The primary mission of the Army is to defend the land of Bangladesh from any external attack. Control of personnel and operations is ad ...

. Huq was married to Rubana Huq. They have three children.

Death

In July 2017, Annisul Huq was admitted to a hospital in London. He was diagnosed with

cerebral vasculitis Cerebral vasculitis (sometimes the word angiitis is used instead of "vasculitis") is vasculitis (inflammation of the blood vessel wall) involving the brain and occasionally the spinal cord. It affects all of the vessels: very small blood vessels ( ...

. He died on 30 November 2017, after being in a sedative condition for more than three months. He was posthumously granted a National Information and Communication Technology Award.

References

External links

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Tribute to Annisul Huq: Demise of a changemaker
{{DEFAULTSORT:Annisul Huq 1952 births 2017 deaths People from Sonagazi Upazila Mayors of Dhaka North City Corporation Bangladeshi businesspeople University of Chittagong alumni Bangladeshi television personalities Burials at Banani Graveyard