Former President Badruddoza Chowdhury passes away

Former President of Bangladesh Professor AQM Badruddoza Chowdhury passed away while undergoing treatment at a city hospital early hours of today at the age of 94.

He breathed his last at 3.15am at Uttara Women Medical College Hospital established by his own here, his press secretary Jahangir Alam said.

Chowdhury is survived by wife, a son, two daughters, grand children and a host of relatives and well-wishers.

The ex-president was admitted to the hospital on October 2 as he had a lung infection. That day, his daughter, Dr Shayla Chowdhury, informed that her father had previously suffered from ischemic heart disease.

A prominent physician and veteran politician, Badruddoza, was born on October 11, 1930, in Cumilla city (the famous ‘Munshif Bari’) at his maternal grandparents’ house.

He was the founding secretary-general of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) as his father Advocate Kafil Uddin Chowdhury was the co-chairman of the Krishak Praja Party, general secretary of the United Front, and a member of the then provincial cabinet of East Pakistan.

His ancestral home is in Majidpur Dayahata village, Srinagar upazila of Munshiganj.

Badruddoza was an outstanding brilliant student. He completed his matriculation in the first division from the famous St. Gregory’s School in Dhaka in 1947 and passed the ISC in the first division from Dhaka College in 1949.

He obtained his MBBS degree from Dhaka Medical College in 1954-55. He was on the merit list in all examinations.

Badruddoza was a fellow of the three Royal Colleges of Physicians in the United Kingdom: London, Edinburgh, and Glasgow (FRCP) and an honored FCPS in Bangladesh.

He was a leading professor in the field of disease science, a specialised physician, and a record-holding presenter of television programmes on disease science.

Successful parliamentarian, Badruddoza has given speeches at the United Nations three times. He was adorned with the Independence Award and he authored many books.

He entered politics at the request of former President Ziaur Rahman in 1978. He was first elected as a Member of Parliament from Srinagar, Munshiganj, in 1979 and served as a cabinet minister.

Badruddoza was re-elected as a Member of Parliament in 1991 and initially served as minister of education and later as Deputy Leader of the Parliament.

In 1996, he served as the deputy leader of the Opposition in Parliament. Most recently, he was re-elected as a Member of Parliament in 2001 and served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the BNP government from October to November of that year.

Badruddoza was elected president of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh on November 14, 2001. He resigned from the presidency on June 21, 2002, due to political reasons.

On May 8, 2004, Badruddoza founded a political party named Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh. He was serving as the party’s president till death.

His wife’s name is Hasina Wardah Chowdhury. His elder daughter, Moona Chowdhury, is a barrister by profession. His younger daughter, Shayla Chowdhury, is a physician and teaches at Dhaka’s Uttara Women’s Medical College. His only son, Mahi B Chowdhury, is a politician and media personality. (BSS)