Syed Ishtiaq Ahmed (16 January 1932 – 12 July 2003) was a Bangladeshi lawyer and constitutionalist. He was a former

attorney general of Bangladesh The attorney general for Bangladesh () is the Bangladeshi government's chief legal adviser and its primary lawyer in the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. The attorney general is usually a highly respected senior advocate and is appointed by the ru ...

. He served as an adviser of law to the non-party caretaker government in two successive terms.

Background and education

Ahmed and his family originated from

Ghazipur Ghazipur, is a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Ghazipur city is the administrative headquarters of the Ghazipur district, one of the four districts that form the Varanasi division of Uttar Pradesh. It is located on the Ganges (Ganga) ...

in present-day

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

, India. He had four elder brothers and one younger one. He got his elementary education in Ramanath High English School in

Hili, Dakshin Dinajpur Hili is a village in Hili CD Block in Balurghat subdivision of Dakshin Dinajpur district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a border checkpoint on the India-Bangladesh border. History During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 nearly 400 ...

where his father, Syed Zafar Ahmed, had a business. He also studied in

Calcutta Madrasa Aliah University (AU; , ) is a public state university in New Town, West Bengal, India. Previously known as Mohammedan College of Calcutta, it was elevated to university in 2008. History The Aliah University (AU) is one of the oldest modern ...

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 ...

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

. Ahmed passed the matriculation and intermediate exam from

Mymensingh Zilla School Mymensingh Zilla School (MZS) is a public secondary school for boys, located in Mymensingh, Bangladesh. The institution was established in 1846 during the British Raj under the name Hardinge School and was officially renamed Mymensingh Zilla Schoo ...

in 1948 and

Dhaka College Dhaka College (), informally known as DC, is a public educational institution of Bangladesh located in Dhanmondi, Dhaka. It is one of the oldest educational institutions in the subcontinent. It offers Honours degree, honours and Master's degree ...

in 1950 respectively. He completed his bachelor's and master's in economics at 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 1953 and 1954 respectively. He obtained his second master's in economics from

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

in 1958.

Career

Ahmed joined The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn and became a barrister in 1958. He then taught in a higher secondary school in London until he returned to Bangladesh in 1960. He than started practicing law at the East Pakistan High Court. He worked as an associate barrister at the chamber of Barrister ATM Mustafa at Ramkrishna Mission Road in Dhaka. Ahmed was appointed additional attorney general in 1972 and attorney general in 1976. He was the permanent representative of Bangladesh to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

in 1978. He was recruited as a member of the International Election Observer Group and monitored national elections of Sri Lanka, Nepal, and the Maldives. He served as an adviser to the Caretaker government of Bangladesh in 1991 and again in 2001. He was twice elected president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, during 1978–79 and 1989–90. Ahmed taught law at the

as a part-time faculty member from 1961 to 1968 and served the university as a senior legal adviser from 1972 to 1991. He established the law firm ''"Syed Ishtiaq Ahmed & Associates (SIA&A)"''. Ahmed was the president of the Rotary Club of Dhaka North, life member of the

Bangla Academy The Bangla Academy (, ) is the official regulatory body of the Bengali language in Bangladesh. It is an autonomous institution funded by the Government of Bangladesh that fosters the Bengali language, literature and culture, works to develop an ...

, the

Asiatic Society of Bangladesh The Asiatic Society of Bangladesh is a non political and non profit research organisation registered under both Society Act of 1864 and NGO Affairs Bureau, Government of Bangladesh. The Asiatic Society of Bangladesh was established as the Asiati ...

, the Bangladesh Itihas Parisad, the board of trustees of

Centre for Policy Dialogue The Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) is a non-governmental think-tank in Bangladesh. It was established in 1993 by Rehman Sobhan, its founder chairman, with support from leading civil society institutions in Bangladesh History In 1993, Reh ...

Personal life

Ahmed married Sufia Ibrahim in June 1955. Sufia is an academic and the first female

National Professor National Professor () is a prestigious teaching award given by the government of Bangladesh for outstanding contribution in the field of education. It is awarded by the President of Bangladesh according to ''Bangladesh National Professor Resolutio ...

of Bangladesh. Together they had one son

Syed Refaat Ahmed Syed Refaat Ahmed (born 28 December 1958) is a Bangladeshi lawyer and jurist who is the current and 25th chief justice of Bangladesh. Previously, he was the most senior judge at the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. Early ...

, 25th

Chief Justice of Bangladesh The chief justice of Bangladesh ( – ) is the highest-ranking judge of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh and the head of the country's judiciary, overseeing both the Supreme Court and all subordinate courts. The chief justice is appointed by the ...

and a daughter, Tasneem Raina Fateh, a physician. Ahmed had been suffering from diabetes, anaemia and encephalopathy. He died of old-age complications at BIRDEM Hospital in Dhaka on 12 July 2003. On July 18, 2004, Sufia established a trust fund titled ''"Barrister Syed Ishtiaq Ahmed Memorial Foundation"'' at the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahmed, Syed Ishtiaq 1932 births 2003 deaths Politicians from Ghazipur Mymensingh Zilla School alumni Dhaka College alumni University of Dhaka alumni Academic staff of the University of Dhaka Alumni of the London School of Economics Bangladeshi barristers Attorneys general of Bangladesh