Hamidul Huq Choudhury was born in Noakhali District

Noakhali District

Noakhali is a district in South-eastern Bangladesh. It is located in the Chittagong Division.-Geography:Noakhali District located in Chittagong Division, Bangladesh...

, Bengal

Bengal

Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...

 (subsequently East Pakistan

East Pakistan

East Pakistan was a provincial state of Pakistan established in 14 August 1947. The provincial state existed until its declaration of independence on 26 March 1971 as the independent nation of Bangladesh. Pakistan recognized the new nation on 16 December 1971. East Pakistan was created from Bengal...

 and now Bangladesh

Bangladesh

Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...

) during the British Raj

British Raj

British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...

. He was educated in Dhaka

Dhaka

Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka Division. Dhaka is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, had a population of over 15 million in 2010, making it the largest city...

 and Calcutta, and had a varied, distinguished and at times controversial career as a lawyer, politician and newspaper proprietor.

Education

Hamidul Huq was educated at the Dacca Collegiate School (Dhaka), Presidency College (Calcutta) and the Law College, Calcutta University (Calcutta). He was admitted as an Advocate before the Calcutta High Court and served for a time as a Crown Prosecutor. Hamidul Huq also served as a Legal Remembrancer for the Calcutta High Court. Following Partition in 1947, he had a long and distinguished legal practice before the Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

 and subsequently Bangladesh High Courts, and celebrated his Golden Jubilee (50 years) as an advocate and member of the legal profession in 1987, at his residence, Neerala Garden House, Tejgaon, in Dhaka.

Law career

Hamidul Huq was elected to the Bengal Legislative Council in 1937 (serving as Deputy President of the Council) and was re-elected to the body in 1946. During his tenure on the Council, Hamidul Huq was a member of the Bengal Imperial Agriculture Council, Central Sugarcane Committee, Handloom Board, Textile Control Board and Industrial Development Enquiry Committee, and also a Fellow of Calcutta University. In 1947, Hamidul Huq represented the Muslim League before Sir Cyril Radcliffe's Boundary Commission.

Foreign Minister of Pakistan

Following partition in 1947, Hamidul Huq moved with his family to Dhaka, East Pakistan

East Pakistan

East Pakistan was a provincial state of Pakistan established in 14 August 1947. The provincial state existed until its declaration of independence on 26 March 1971 as the independent nation of Bangladesh. Pakistan recognized the new nation on 16 December 1971. East Pakistan was created from Bengal...

. He was elected to the Pakistan Constitutional Assembly and was also a member of the East Bengal Legislative Assembly

East Bengal Legislative Assembly

The East Bengal Legislative Assembly was the elected law-making body of the province of East Bengal in Pakistan. It was later renamed the East Pakistan Legislative Assembly and would be succeeded by the Jatiyo Sangshad in 1971.-Speakers:...

, during which time he served as the Minister for Finance, Commerce, Labour & Industries (1947–49). Subsequently Hamidul was elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan in 1955 as a leader of the United Front Party and served as the third Foreign Minister of Pakistan

Foreign Minister of Pakistan

The Foreign Minister of Pakistan heads the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The current Foreign Minister is Hina Rabbani Khar who took office as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs on 11 February 2011, and as full Minister of Foreign Affairs on 20 July, 2011...

 (1955–56). Hamidul Huq participated in the Round Table Conference of Pakistani government and opposition leaders in Rawalpindi in 1969.

Hamidul Huq was the Founder Chairman of The Bangladesh Observer

The Bangladesh Observer

The Bangladesh Observer, founded by Hamidul Huq Choudhury in 1949, was the oldest continuously published English language daily newspaper in Bangladesh, whose tumultuous history mirrors the history of the land and people it represents....

, which he established in Dhaka in 1949.

Hamidul Huq was married to Halima Banu. He died in Dhaka on 21 January 1992.