Mirza Azam (born 13 September 1962) is a Bangladeshi politician and Organizing Secretary of Bangladesh Awami League . He has been elected

Member of Parliament (Bangladesh) A Member of Parliament Member of parliament, (MP) in Bangladesh is a member of the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Bangladesh, the Jatiya Sangsad or House of the Nation. A majority of members are elected directly in Elections in Banglad ...

six times and has served as State Minister for Textiles and Jute. He was General Secretary of Bangladesh Jubo League

Early life

Azam was born on 13 September 1962 at Sukhnagari village, Madarganj Upazila,

Jamalpur District Jamalpur District () is a district in Bangladesh, and part of Mymensingh Division. It was established in 1978 during the rule of Ziaur Rahman. It has its headquarters in Jamalpur. Etymology The district is named for its headquarters, Jamalpur ...

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 ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. His mother was Mosammat Nurunnahar Begum. He was a well-known figure of student politics in Jamalpur.

Career

Azam started his political career from student life in 1977. He was an Amusement and Entertainment Secretary of the Student union of Government Ashek Mahmud College in 1979. In 1981, he was elected vice-president of

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 ...

unit. In 1991, he was elected as the President of Jubo League and Joint-General Secretary of Awami League, Jamalpur District Branch. He was elected to Parliament from Jamalpur-3 in 1991 as a candidate of Awami League. He received 39,907 votes while his nearest rival of Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Shah Md. Khairul Bashar Chishti, received 31,032 votes. Azam was re-elected to Parliament from Jamalpur-3 in 1996 as a candidate of Awami League. In 1996, he was elected as the General Secretary of Bangladesh Awami League of Jamalpur District Branch. He served as the General Secretary of Bangladesh Awami Jubo League of the Central Executive Committee from 2003 to 2012. In January 2004, he was injured while on a protest by Bangladesh Police personnel. In June 2004, a bus in Shahbagh was burned down killing 11 after which police charged Azam, Jahangir Kabir Nanak and nine others. The charges were dropped in 2013 as the

Criminal Investigation Department The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is the branch of a police force to which most plainclothes criminal investigation, detectives belong in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth nations. A force's CID is disti ...

did not find evidence of their involvement. Azam was re-elected to Parliament from Jamalpur-3 in 2001 as a candidate of Awami League. He was the Whip of Opposition Party in the 8th Bangladesh National Parliament. In 2007, Rapid Action Battalion sued Azam for selling his Lexus, imported duty free due to member of parliament privileges, illegally using forged papers to Shawkat Ali director of Metro Spinning Limited. In November an arrest warrant was issued against Azam. In December, Judge Mohammad Azizul Haque ordered property of Azam to be seized. Anti-Corruption Commission sued him in another case over 5.3 million in unexplained wealth on 8 July 2008 with the Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's . In July 2008, he was sent to jail after surrendering to Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court. Jmb leader Shaekh Abdur Rahman is brother in law of him. Azam was re-elected to Parliament from Jamalpur-3 in 2008 as a candidate of Awami League against Mostafizur Rahman Babul of Bangladesh Nationalist Party. He was the Whip of Ruling Party of the 9th Bangladesh National Parliament. In February 2009, during the Bangladesh Rifles revolt he visited the

Bangladesh Rifles Border Guard Bangladesh (abbr. BGB; ) is a paramilitary force responsible for the border security of Bangladesh. The BGB is entrusted with the responsibility to defend the border of Bangladesh with India and Myanmar. It was formerly known as th ...

headguards with Jahangir Kabir Nanak to negotiate with the rebels on behalf of the government. Azam was re-elected to Parliament from Jamalpur-3 in 2014 unopposed after the election was boycotted by the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party. He has taken oath as the State Minister of Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh on 12 January 2014. He has taken on his duties in the Ministry of Textiles and Jute on 13 January 2014. Azam was re-elected in 2018 from Jamalpur-3 as a candidate of the Awami League. He received 385,113 votes while his nearest rival, Md Mostafizur Rahman Babul of Bangladesh Nationalist Party received 4,677 votes. Azam has established around fifty educational institutions. Among these are Bangamata Sheikh Fojilatunnesa Mujib Science and Technology University and Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib Fisheries College. Azam's home was vandalized on 5 August 2024 following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina led Awami League government. It was again vandalized in February 2025.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Azam, Mirza 1962 births Living people People from Jamalpur District Politicians from Mymensingh Division Awami League politicians State Ministers of Textiles and Jute (Bangladesh) 5th Jatiya Sangsad members 7th Jatiya Sangsad members 8th Jatiya Sangsad members 9th Jatiya Sangsad members 11th Jatiya Sangsad members 10th Jatiya Sangsad members 12th Jatiya Sangsad members