Nahida Sobhan is a Bangladeshi diplomat. She is the first female diplomat representing Bangladesh in the Middle East as she became ambassador to Jordan on 21 February 2020. Earlier, she served as the director general of the UN Department in the

Ministry 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 relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

Education

Sobhan completed her SSC from Agrani Girls' School in 1984 and HSC from Holy Cross College in 1986. She holds a bachelor of arts (honors) and a master's degree in English literature from 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 ...

in 1992 and in 1994 respectively. Sohan was trained in public international law at

The Hague Academy of International Law The Hague Academy of International Law () is a center for high-level education in both public and private international law housed in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands. Courses are taught in English and French and, except for External ...

in Netherlands. She also obtained a diploma in international relations from the Institute of Public Administration in Paris, France. She is equally fluent in French, English and Bengali.

Career

Sobhan is a career foreign service officer, belonging to 15th batch of

Bangladesh Civil Service Bangladesh Civil Service (), popularly known by its acronym BCS, is the civil service of Bangladesh. Civil service in the Indian subcontinent originated from the Imperial Civil Service which was the elite higher civil service of the British Empir ...

(BCS) foreign affairs cadre. She served in various capacities at Bangladesh missions in Rome, Kolkata and Geneva. Sobhan was the director general of the United Nations wing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She stated that the Murder of Abrar Fahad ''"was not linked to freedom of expression,”'' after calling UN Resident Coordinator Mia Seppo. In February 2020, Sobhan was appointed Ambassador of Bangladesh to Jordan, the first Bangladeshi woman ambassador in the Middle East. She provided aid to the International Committee of Red Cross for earthquake victims in Syria. Sobhan was appointed Bangladesh High Commissioner to Canada in May 2024.

Personal life

Sobhan is married and has a son, and a daughter.

References

Living people Holy Cross College, Dhaka alumni University of Dhaka alumni Bangladeshi women ambassadors Ambassadors of Bangladesh to Jordan Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) {{Bangladesh-diplomat-stub