Ziaul Haque Zia (; 11 March 1953 – 4 November 2016) was a

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 ...

politician. He was a 4-term

Jatiya Sangsad The Jatiya Sangsad (), often simply referred to as Sangsad and also known as is the unicameral Legislature, legislative body of Bangladesh. The current parliament of Bangladesh contains 350 seats, including 50 seats reserved exclusively for w ...

member representing the Lakshmipur-1 constituency. He served as the

minister of local government, rural development and co-operatives The Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives () is a ministry of the government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh. It is responsible for the housing and building, regional and rural policy, municipalities of Banglades ...

between 2001 and 2006.

Early life

Zia was born on 11 March 1953, into 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 ...

family in the village of Keturi in Bhadur Union, Ramganj,

Noakhali District Noakhali District (), historically known as Bhulua (), is a Districts of Bangladesh, district in southeastern Bangladesh, located in Chattogram Division. It was established as a district in 1821, and officially named Noakhali in 1868. The distr ...

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal until 1937, later the Bengal Province, was the largest of all three presidencies of British India during Company rule in India, Company rule and later a Provinces o ...

(now in

Lakshmipur District Lakshmipur District (; ) is a district in Bangladesh with an area of 1,440 km2. It is bordered by Chandpur to the north, Bhola and Noakhali districts to the south, Noakhali to the east, and Barisal and Bhola districts to the west. Lakshmi ...

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 ...

Career

Zia started working in

Rupali Bank Rupali Bank () is a Bangladeshi state owned commercial bank that operates across Bangladesh. Its headquarters is in 34 Dilkusha, Dhaka. Md. Nazrul Huda is the chairman of the bank. Kazi Md. Wahidul Islam is the managing director of the bank. H ...

. He joined the

in 1986. In 2008, the special court convicted Zia of amassing wealth illegally and concealing information from the Anti-Corruption Commission. In 2009, a High Court bench granted bail to eight convicts including Zia. He was the owner of Royal Filling Station, situated in Dhaka's

Mohakhali Mohakhali () is a neighborhood of Dhaka city, the capital of Bangladesh. Mohakhali is one of the busiest places in Dhaka city. Mohakhali is bounded by Banani (neighbourhood), Banani in the north, Tejgaon Industrial Area Thana, Tejgoan area in the ...

area. The caretaker government confiscated the station in 2007 but it was later returned to Zia.

Personal life

Zia was married to Nasima Haque, with whom he had one son, Mashfiqul Haque Joy and one daughter, Priyanka Haque

Death

Zia died on 4 November 2016 under treatment for cancer at

Bumrungrad International Hospital Bumrungrad International Hospital (, , ; ) is a private hospital founded in 1980 in Bangkok, Thailand. More frequently referred to as Bumrungrad Hospital or simply Bumrungrad, its name, ''Bumrungrad'' means 'to care for the populace' or 'to nurtu ...

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

References

1953 births 20th-century Bengalis 21st-century Bengalis 2016 deaths Bangladesh Nationalist Party politicians Deaths from cancer in Thailand State ministers of local government, rural development and co-operatives 5th Jatiya Sangsad members 6th Jatiya Sangsad members 7th Jatiya Sangsad members 8th Jatiya Sangsad members People from Ramganj Upazila Politicians from Chittagong Division {{BangladeshNationalistParty-politician-stub