Saifur Rahman
Encyclopedia
Mohammad Saifur Rahman (October 6, 1932 – September 5, 2009; Bengali
: মোহাম্মদ সাইফুর রহমান), was a Bangladesh
i politician. He was a popular leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party
, best known for being the longest serving Finance Minister of Bangladesh. He delivered 12 national budgets in three terms between 1980–81, 1991-1995 & 2002-2006 over a ministerial life spanning from Dec,1976 till Oct.2006 in three different governments in which he was Trade & Commerce Minister for first three years and thereafter Finance and Planning Minister for 12 years. In 1994, he presided over the golden jubilee conference of World Bank
and International Monetary Fund
as elected governor at Madrid
in Spain
. In 2005, Saifur Rahman was awarded Ekushey Padak
, the highest state honor of Bangladesh
.
Upazila of Maulvi Bazar District, in the Sylhet Division
. He was one of the participants of the Bengali Language Movement which took place in 1952 of whom he was the vice-president of the Dhaka University's Salimullah Muslim Hall. He has been awarded Ekushey Padak
, the second highest state award of Bangladesh
in 2005 for role his in Bengali Language Movement.
in 1953. Later in 1954 he went to London and studied for qualifying as Chartered Accountant where he obtained certificate as a qualified chartered accountant
from the Institute of Chartered Accountants
. He became a specialist in Monetary, Fiscal
and Development Economics. He was the president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh
, president of Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs, and president of United Nations Association of Bangladesh.
in 1977, who were supporters of the late former president Ziaur Rahman
, which then became known as the Bangladesh Nationalist Party
(BNP) in 1978. The party came into power after a general election in 1979. Rahman was appointed as the finance minister of the first BNP government under Ziaur Rahman, which he served until 1980. Saifur Rahman prepared a record 12 budgets in Bangladesh and has been hailed for opening up Bangladesh's economy in the early 1990s and pioneering major economic reforms. Especially his role is cited positively for the expansion of Bangladeshi economy particularly after the country appeared to have entered into a process of consistent democratic practice.
General elections of 2001 came as triumphant to Rahman and according to the observers have reflected the position Rahman used to have in his constituency. Contesting on behalf of his party BNP party in the parliamentary constituency Maulvibazar-3, he secured a 52 per cent of the total votes pushing behind his nearest contestant Azizur Rahman of Bangladesh Awami League
who secured 95,319 votes. In another contest at the constituency Sylhet-1, Saifur Rahman here too secured a 53 per cent of the total votes having his categorical counterpart of Awami League Abul Maal Abdul Muhith
defeated and satisfied with only 95,089 votes. As per the constitution Saifur had to leave blank one of his won constituencies to proceed the house session. He decided to left the Maulvibazar-3 seat which was later retaken by his son M. Naser Rahman also representing Bangladesh Nationalist Party.
However in the general elections in 2008, Rahman had to concede defeat in Sylhet-1 constituency to Abul Maal Abdul Muhith
receiving 140,367 votes against Muhit's 178,636 votes for the Awami League. Muhit like Rahman, has been the choice of his party to chair the Ministry of Finance, which made the idiom stood up that Sylhet-1 is being a sole provider of finance ministers. Rahman also conceded defeat to AL candidate Syed Mohsin Ali of the Maulvibazar-3 constituency.
on his way to Dhaka from his home district of Maulvibazar. He was pulled out unconscious from the car crash and was declared dead after being rushed to a hospital the same day. On Friday he was in Sylhet
visiting the shrines of Hazrat Shah Jalal and Shah Paran
, then headed for Moulvibazar. A total of five janazah prayers were held for Rahman, the first of which took place in Gulshan
Azad Mosque, then at the BNP offices, at the Parliament buildings, Shahi Eidgah Maidan and at Moulvibazar Government High School. The BNP began three day mourning for the passing. Rahman was laid to rest at his family graveyard beside his wife's grave in Baharmardan village at 5.45PM, after the prayers.
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
: মোহাম্মদ সাইফুর রহমান), was a 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...
i politician. He was a popular leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party
Bangladesh Nationalist Party
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party , commonly referred to as the BNP, is the mainstream center-right political party in Bangladesh. BNP ruled Bangladesh total 18 years since her independence, the longest than any other party in Bangladesh...
, best known for being the longest serving Finance Minister of Bangladesh. He delivered 12 national budgets in three terms between 1980–81, 1991-1995 & 2002-2006 over a ministerial life spanning from Dec,1976 till Oct.2006 in three different governments in which he was Trade & Commerce Minister for first three years and thereafter Finance and Planning Minister for 12 years. In 1994, he presided over the golden jubilee conference of World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
and International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
as elected governor at Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. In 2005, Saifur Rahman was awarded Ekushey Padak
Ekushey Padak
Ekushey Padak is one of the highest civilian awards in Bangladesh, introduced in memory of the martyrs of the Language Movement of 1952 that took place on February 21, 1952.-2001:*Shah Abdul Karim...
, the highest state honor of 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...
.
Life and career
Saifur Rahman, son of Abdul Basit, was born on October 6, 1932, in the village of Baharmardan located in Maulvibazar SadarMaulvibazar Sadar Upazila
Maulvibazar Sadar is an Upazila of Maulvibazar District in the Division of Sylhet, Bangladesh.-Geography:Maulvibazar Sadar is located at . It has 40573 units of house hold and total area 344.34 km².-Demographics:...
Upazila of Maulvi Bazar District, in the Sylhet Division
Sylhet Division
Sylhet Division , also known as Greater Sylhet or Sylhet region, is the northeastern division of Bangladesh, named after its main city, Sylhet...
. He was one of the participants of the Bengali Language Movement which took place in 1952 of whom he was the vice-president of the Dhaka University's Salimullah Muslim Hall. He has been awarded Ekushey Padak
Ekushey Padak
Ekushey Padak is one of the highest civilian awards in Bangladesh, introduced in memory of the martyrs of the Language Movement of 1952 that took place on February 21, 1952.-2001:*Shah Abdul Karim...
, the second highest state award of 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...
in 2005 for role his in Bengali Language Movement.
Education
Rahman did his matriculation from Maulvibazar Government High School in 1949 and did his Intermediate from Sylhet MC College in 1951. He graduated from the Dhaka University with a B.Com (Hons)Bachelor of Commerce
A Bachelor of Commerce is an undergraduate degree in commerce and related subjects. The degree is also known as the Bachelor of Commerce and Administration, or BCA...
in 1953. Later in 1954 he went to London and studied for qualifying as Chartered Accountant where he obtained certificate as a qualified chartered accountant
Chartered Accountant
Chartered Accountants were the first accountants to form a professional body, initially established in Britain in 1854. The Edinburgh Society of Accountants , the Glasgow Institute of Accountants and Actuaries and the Aberdeen Society of Accountants were each granted a royal charter almost from...
from the Institute of Chartered Accountants
Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales
The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales was established by a Royal Charter in 1880. It has over 130,000 members. Over 15,000 of these members live and work outside the UK...
. He became a specialist in Monetary, Fiscal
Finance
"Finance" is often defined simply as the management of money or “funds” management Modern finance, however, is a family of business activity that includes the origination, marketing, and management of cash and money surrogates through a variety of capital accounts, instruments, and markets created...
and Development Economics. He was the president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh
Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh is the national professional accountancy body in Bangladesh. It is the sole organisation in the Bangladesh with the right to award the Chartered Accountant designation....
, president of Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs, and president of United Nations Association of Bangladesh.
Politics
Rahman joined a political coalition called the Jatiyatabadi Ganatantrik DalJatiyatabadi Ganatantrik Dal
The Jatiyatabadi Ganatantrik Dal was a 1977-78 coalition of the political supporters of the then-President of Bangladesh Ziaur Rahman. It was the predecessor of the modern Bangladesh Nationalist Party that was formed on September 1, 1978....
in 1977, who were supporters of the late former president Ziaur Rahman
Ziaur Rahman
President Ziaur Rahman, Bir Uttam, was a Bangladeshi politician and general, who read the declaration of Independence of Bangladesh on March 26, 1971 on behalf of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He later became the seventh President of Bangladesh from 1977 until 1981...
, which then became known as the Bangladesh Nationalist Party
Bangladesh Nationalist Party
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party , commonly referred to as the BNP, is the mainstream center-right political party in Bangladesh. BNP ruled Bangladesh total 18 years since her independence, the longest than any other party in Bangladesh...
(BNP) in 1978. The party came into power after a general election in 1979. Rahman was appointed as the finance minister of the first BNP government under Ziaur Rahman, which he served until 1980. Saifur Rahman prepared a record 12 budgets in Bangladesh and has been hailed for opening up Bangladesh's economy in the early 1990s and pioneering major economic reforms. Especially his role is cited positively for the expansion of Bangladeshi economy particularly after the country appeared to have entered into a process of consistent democratic practice.
General elections of 2001 came as triumphant to Rahman and according to the observers have reflected the position Rahman used to have in his constituency. Contesting on behalf of his party BNP party in the parliamentary constituency Maulvibazar-3, he secured a 52 per cent of the total votes pushing behind his nearest contestant Azizur Rahman of Bangladesh Awami League
Bangladesh Awami League
The Bangladesh Awami League , commonly known as the Awami League, is the mainstream center-left, secular political party in Bangladesh...
who secured 95,319 votes. In another contest at the constituency Sylhet-1, Saifur Rahman here too secured a 53 per cent of the total votes having his categorical counterpart of Awami League Abul Maal Abdul Muhith
Abul Maal Abdul Muhith
Abul Maal Abdul Muhith is an economist, diplomat, and a Bengali Language Movement veteran from Bangladesh. He was born in Sylhet in 1934.-Education:Mr. Muhith secured first place in his Intermediate examination in 1951 from Sylhet MC College...
defeated and satisfied with only 95,089 votes. As per the constitution Saifur had to leave blank one of his won constituencies to proceed the house session. He decided to left the Maulvibazar-3 seat which was later retaken by his son M. Naser Rahman also representing Bangladesh Nationalist Party.
However in the general elections in 2008, Rahman had to concede defeat in Sylhet-1 constituency to Abul Maal Abdul Muhith
Abul Maal Abdul Muhith
Abul Maal Abdul Muhith is an economist, diplomat, and a Bengali Language Movement veteran from Bangladesh. He was born in Sylhet in 1934.-Education:Mr. Muhith secured first place in his Intermediate examination in 1951 from Sylhet MC College...
receiving 140,367 votes against Muhit's 178,636 votes for the Awami League. Muhit like Rahman, has been the choice of his party to chair the Ministry of Finance, which made the idiom stood up that Sylhet-1 is being a sole provider of finance ministers. Rahman also conceded defeat to AL candidate Syed Mohsin Ali of the Maulvibazar-3 constituency.
Personal life
Rahman had three sons and a daughter. His wife, Duree Samad Rahman, died of cancer in 2003. One of his sons, M. Naser Rahman, was a successful contender in by-elections for his left constituency of Maulvibazar-3 in 2001.Death
Rahman died in a road crash on September 5, 2009, in Brahmanbaria DistrictBrahmanbaria District
Brahmanbaria is a district in east-central Bangladesh. It is a part of the Chittagong Division. It was part of greater Comilla District until 1984. Before 1830 the Sarail Pargana was a part of Mymensingh district...
on his way to Dhaka from his home district of Maulvibazar. He was pulled out unconscious from the car crash and was declared dead after being rushed to a hospital the same day. On Friday he was in Sylhet
Sylhet
Sylhet , is a major city in north-eastern Bangladesh. It is the main city of Sylhet Division and Sylhet District, and was granted metropolitan city status in March 2009. Sylhet is located on the banks of the Surma Valley and is surrounded by the Jaintia, Khasi and Tripura hills...
visiting the shrines of Hazrat Shah Jalal and Shah Paran
Shah Paran
Shah Paran was a renowned Sufi saint of the Suhrawardiyya and Jalalia order. It is said that he was the son of a sister of Hazrat Shah Jalal and was born in Hadramaut, Yemen. He was an accomplice of his uncle, Shah Jalal, with whom he arrived in India. In 1303 AD, He took part in the expedition...
, then headed for Moulvibazar. A total of five janazah prayers were held for Rahman, the first of which took place in Gulshan
Gulshan
-Places:Bangladesh* Gulshan, Dhaka - an area of Dhaka, BangladeshIran* Gulshan or Golshan, former name of Tabas, Yazd Province, Iran* Golshan, another name for Afif-Abad Garden, in Shiraz, Iran* Golshan Gas Field, IranPakistan...
Azad Mosque, then at the BNP offices, at the Parliament buildings, Shahi Eidgah Maidan and at Moulvibazar Government High School. The BNP began three day mourning for the passing. Rahman was laid to rest at his family graveyard beside his wife's grave in Baharmardan village at 5.45PM, after the prayers.