Muhammad Shamsul Huq (12 October 1912 – 23 February 2006) was a Bangladeshi politician and educator. He served as an education minister in erstwhile

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 became the

minister of foreign affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

six years after the

independence of Bangladesh The independence of Bangladesh was Proclamation of Bangladeshi Independence, declared from Pakistan on 26 March 1971, which is now celebrated as Independence Day (Bangladesh), Independence Day. The Bangladesh Liberation War started on 26 March ...

. Shamsul Huq also served as vice-chancellor in both the

University of Dhaka The University of Dhaka (), also known as Dhaka University (DU), is a public university, public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Established in 1921, it is the oldest active university in the country. The University of Dhaka w ...

and

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 ...

. He was awarded the ''

Ekushey Padak Ekushey Padak () is the second highest civilian award in Bangladesh, introduced in memory of martyrs of the Bengali language movement of 1952. The award is given to recognize contributions in a number of fields, including culture, education, and e ...

'' in 2003 by the

government of Bangladesh The government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh () is the central government of Bangladesh. The government was constituted by the Constitution of Bangladesh comprising the executive (the president, prime minister and cabinet), the ...

Early life and education

Shamsul Huq was born on 12 October 1912 to 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 ...

parents Karimul Huq and Mahmuda Khatun in the village of Pashchimgaon in

Laksam Laksam is a city in eastern Bangladesh. It is the headquarters of Laksam Upazila of Comilla District. It is situated on the banks of the Dakatia River. Demographics According to the 2022 Bangladesh census, Laksam city had a population of 9 ...

Tipperah District Meghna Division (), also known as Comilla district, is a proposed administrative division within Bangladesh. The division gets its name from the Meghna River, which forms its western border. It encompasses the north-western parts of the existing ...

, Bengal Province. In 1927, he passed his matriculation exam from the local Faizunnisa-Badrunnisa High School in Paschimgaon. He completed his

Intermediate of Arts Intermediate Arts (IA) is an academic diploma awarded by a high school or junior college after the completion of 12th grade or equivalent in some countries like India and Nepal. However, as for Nepal, the usage of IA, ISc, and the like has become o ...

from Feni College in 1929. Shamsul Huq earned his bachelor's in political economy and political philosophy from the Islamia College of

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 ...

in 1931. He got his master's from the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...

in 1933. He also received training from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

from 1945 to 1946, under the Post-War Education Reforms Programme.

Career

Huq served as the third vice-chancellor of the

from 31 August 1965 to 4 August 1969. He then served the

government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan () (abbreviated as GoP), constitutionally known as the Federal Government, commonly known as the Centre, is the national authority of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, a federal republic located in South Asia, con ...

under General

Yahya Khan Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan (4 February 191710 August 1980) was a Pakistani army officer who served as the third president of Pakistan from 1969 to 1971. He also served as the fifth Commander-in-Chief, Pakistan, commander-in-chief of the Pakistan ...

as a minister in the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology Research until the independence of Bangladesh. From 23 September 1975 to 1 February 1976, Huq served as the fifteenth vice-chancellor of the

. He became Bangladesh's fifth

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

in November 1975, serving this role until March 1982. From 1977 to 1978, Shamsul Huq was a member of the

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 ...

's advisory board. Along with President

Ziaur Rahman Ziaur Rahman (19 January 193630 May 1981) was a Bangladeshi military officer and politician who served as the sixth president of Bangladesh from 1977 until Assassination of Ziaur Rahman, his assassination in 1981. One of the leading figures of t ...

, he contributed to the formulation of the formation of 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) in 1980.

Works

* ''Charging Education in England'' (1948) * ''Compulsory Education in Pakistan'' (1954) * ''Education and Development Strategy in South and South East Asia'' (1965) * ''Pakistan's New Education Policy'' (1970) * ''Education Manpower and Development in South and South East Asia'' (1976) * "The Patterns of Education in South and South East Asia" in ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' (New Edition) * "Education in German Encyclopedia" ''Lexikon der Pedagogi'' (Verlag Herder) * ''Higher Education and Employment in Bangladesh'' (co-author, 1983) * ''South Asia Regional Co-operation: Its Underlying Concept, Problems and Promises in Future of South Asia'' (1985) * ''Role of Education in Development based on lectures delivered at the Bangla Academy'' (1987) * ''Bangladesh in International Politics: the Dilemmas of the Weak States'' (1993) * ''Aid, Development and Diplomacy'' (2001) * ''Bissho-rajniti o Bangladesh'' (2001) * ''Bikasman Somaj o Shikhka'' (1987)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shamsul Huq, Muhammad 1912 births 2006 deaths People from Laksam Upazila Feni Government College alumni University of Calcutta alumni Bangladeshi academics Vice-chancellors of the University of Dhaka Vice-chancellors of the University of Rajshahi Education ministers of Pakistan Ministers of foreign affairs of Bangladesh Recipients of the Ekushey Padak Chairmans of University Grants Commission of Bangladesh