Mohammad Mohammadullah (21 October 1921 – 12 November 1999) was the third president of the People's Republic of

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

. Mohammadullah became the Acting President on 24 December 1973, was elected president on 24 January 1974, and took oath of office on 27 January 1974. He remained President until 25 January 1975.

Early life and education

Mohammadullah was born in Saicha, Raipur,

Lakshmipur Lakshmipur () is a city and headquarter of Lakshmipur District in the Chittagong Division, Bangladesh. Demographics According to the 2011 Bangladesh census, Lakshmipur had 17,009 households and a population of 83,112. 18,345 (22.07%) were u ...

, on 21 October 1921. His father Munshi Abdul Wahab was a social worker. In 1943, he completed his secondary school certificate from Lakshmipur Adarsha Samad Government High School. Mohammadullah earned a bachelor's degree with honours in history from Dhaka University and obtained LLB degree from Ripon College

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

and again from Dhaka University in the same year 1948. In 1950, he became a member of the Dhaka Bar. In 1964, he was enrolled in Dhaka High Court as an advocate.

Political career

Mohammadullah was an active member of the East Pakistan

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 ...

from 1950. He had walked into the Awami League office in Nawabpur and told Sheikh Mujibur Rahman he would like to volunteer for Awami League and started working in office management. In 1953, he was elected as office secretary of

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 ...

and held the same position till 1972 after being nominated by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He actively participated in the six point movement in 1966, for which he was jailed for a long time. Mohammadullah was elected to the East Pakistan Provincial Assembly on the ticket of the Awami League in 1970. He was appointed as the political advisor to the Acting President Syed Nazrul Islam during the

Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War (, ), also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, was an War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalism, Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in East Pakistan, which res ...

in 1971. On 10 April 1972, he was elected as the Deputy Speaker of the Bangladesh Constituent Assembly ( Ganoparishad) and the same year he became the acting Speaker. On 12 November 1972, he was elected Speaker. He was elected to the Member of the Parliament (JS) from the Raipur-Lakshmipur constituency, and was re-elected Speaker of the House again in 1973. He became the Acting President of the Republic on 24 December 1973 and President on 24 January 1974. In January 1975, the fourth amendment was passed which removed then President Mohammad Mohammadullah from office and made Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman president for a five-year term. He was made Minister of Land Administration and Land Reforms in the Cabinet 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 ...

on 26 January 1975. He was appointed as the Vice President by collaborators of the Assassination of Sheikh Mujib in August 1975. Mohammadullah joined the

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) in 1980. He was appointed vice president by President Abdus Sattar in March 1982 but the tenure lasted just a day, because General

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 ...

took over the reins of administration of the country. Mohammadullah was elected a member of the parliament (JS) once again in 1991 on BNP ticket.

Death

Mohammadullah died on 12 November 1999 at the age of 78. He was buried at Banani graveyard near Naval Headquarters.

Honours

King Jigme Singye Investiture Medal (

Kingdom of Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , ...

, received: 2 June 1974).Final Programmes for The Coronation and The Silver Jubilee Celebration
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Notes

References

External links

in bangabhaban.gov.bd {{DEFAULTSORT:Mohammadullah, Mohammad 1921 births 1999 deaths Surendranath College alumni Surendranath Law College alumni Vice presidents of Bangladesh Speakers of the Jatiya Sangsad Awami League politicians Bangladesh Nationalist Party politicians Presidents of Bangladesh University of Calcutta alumni University of Dhaka alumni Burials at Banani Graveyard 1st Jatiya Sangsad members 5th Jatiya Sangsad members 20th-century Bengalis Members of the Constituent Assembly of Bangladesh