Sultan Ahmed (1901 – 2 March 1981) was one of the longest serving

legislator A legislator, or lawmaker, is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are often elected by the people, but they can be appointed, or hereditary. Legislatures may be supra-nat ...

s from

Arakan Arakan ( or ; , ), formerly anglicised as Aracan, is the historical geographical name for the northeastern coastal region of the Bay of Bengal, covering present-day Bangladesh and Myanmar. The region was called "Arakan" for centuries. It is ...

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

(now

Rakhine State Rakhine State ( ; , ; ), formerly known as Arakan State, is a Administrative divisions of Myanmar, state in Myanmar (Burma). Situated on the western coast, it is bordered by Chin State to the north, Magway Region, Bago Region and Ayeyarwady Re ...

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

). Ahmed was the president of the Jamiat-e-Ulema party, which was allied with the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League, the founding political party of Burma. Ahmed served in the Burmese parliament until the

1962 Burmese coup d'état The 1962 Burmese coup d'état marked the beginning of one-party rule in Burma (Myanmar) and the political dominance of the military in Burmese politics. In the 2 March 1962 coup, the military replaced the civilian AFPFL-government headed ...

Early life

Sultan Ahmed was born in 1901 at Thay Chaung Village (Balukhali, Malavi Para) of Maungdaw (in Northern Arakan), Burma. His father was Maulana Akram Uddin. He was matriculated in 1919 from Government Muslim High School of Chittagong. He graduated with B.A degree from University of Calcutta in 1924. In 1929, he obtained his Bachelor of Law degree from the Rangoon University.

Law career

From 1930, after enrolling as Higher-Grade Pleader, Ahmed practiced law in both

Rangoon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...

and

Akyab Sittwe (, ), formerly Akyab (), is the capital of Rakhine State, Myanmar (Burma). Sittwe is located on an estuarial island created at the confluence of the Kaladan, Mayu, and Lay Mro rivers emptying into the Bay of Bengal. As of 2019 the cit ...

. He was appointed as Assistant Township Officer (ATO) in 1946 at

Maungdaw Maungdaw (, ) is a town in Rakhine State, in the western part of Myanmar (Burma). It is the administrative seat of Maungdaw Township and Maungdaw District. Bordering Bangladesh, Maungdaw is home to one of 2 official border trade posts with Bang ...

there he served till 1946. Later he joined the Judicial Department and became First Class Magistrate under the British Government.

Political career

British Burma

Ahmed was elected to the

Legislature of Burma The Burma Legislature was the legislative body of British Burma from 1936 to 1947. As an elected body, the Legislature of Burma was a bicameral legislature consisting of the 36-seat Senate and the 132-seat House of Representatives. Establishment ...

British Burma British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and cultur ...

in 1947 as a representative of

constituency. Ahmed was one of the two Rohingyas in the Burmese legislature in 1947, along with M. A. Gaffar.

Union of Burma

After Burmese independence in 1948, Ahmed became a member of the Burmese constituent assembly. During the 1951 Burmese general election, he was elected to the

Union Parliament The Union Parliament () was the bicameral legislature of the Union of Burma from 1948 to 1962, when it was disbanded by the Union Revolutionary Council. It consisted of an upper house, the Chamber of Nationalities and a lower house, the Chamb ...

from Maungdaw-1 constituency. He was re-elected in

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

and

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

. Ahmed was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Minorities, with the rank and status of a

Deputy Minister Deputy minister is a title borne by politicians or officials in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. A deputy minister is positioned in some way "under" a minister, who is a full member of Cabinet, in charge of a particular sta ...

. He was one of the longest-serving Parliamentary Secretaries in Burmese history.

Statehood question

Sultan Ahmed, along with Kyaw Yin, San Tun Aung, Tha Tun, was a member of the Arakan sub-committee of the Justice Sir Ba Oo Commission. The commission, headed by the Chief Justice of Burma, was set up by Prime Minister

U Nu Nu (; ; 25 May 1907 – 14 February 1995), commonly known as Burmese names#Honorifics, U Nu and also by the honorific name Thakin Nu, was a prominent Burmese people, Burmese statesman and the first Prime Minister of Union of Burma. He was ...

to explore the prospects for Arakanese statehood. The committee submitted its report on 29 October 1948. It recommended the creation of a Ministry of Arakan Affairs which was to be assisted by an Arakan Affairs Council, both of which would be constitutionally recognized.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sultan Ahmed 1901 births 1981 deaths Burmese politicians Burmese Muslims Rohingya politicians People from Rakhine State