Abul Maal Abdul Muhith
Abul Maal Abdul Muhith | |
|---|---|
আবুল মাল আব্দুল মুহিত | |
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| Minister of Finance | |
| Assumed office 6 January 2009 | |
| Prime Minister | Sheikh Hasina |
| Preceded by | Mirza Azizul Islam (Acting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 25 January 1934 Sylhet, Assam Province, British India |
| Nationality | Bangladeshi |
| Political party | Bangladesh Awami League |
| Alma mater | University of Dhaka Harvard University[1] |
| Signature |  |
Abul Maal Abdul Muhith (born 25 January 1934)[2] is an economist, diplomat, and a Bengali Language Movement veteran from Bangladesh. He has been the country's Finance Minister since January 2009.
Early life and education
Born in Sylhet, Muhith passed the matriculation exam from Sylhet Government Pilot High School in 1949. He secured first place in his Intermediate examination in 1951 from Sylhet MC College. He stood first class first in B.A. (Hons.) in English Literature in 1953 from University of Dhaka and passed his Masters with credit from the same university in 1955. While in service to the government, he studied at Oxford University in 1957–1958.[3] He completed a Master of Public Administration at Harvard University in 1964.[4]
Early career
Muhith served as the general secretary of the central committee of the Pakistan Civil Service Association during 1960–1969. He joined the Pakistan Embassy in the United States as an Economic Counselor in 1969. In 1966, he was honoured with the Tamgha e Khidmat award by the Pakistan government. During his service as the Chief and Deputy Secretary of Pakistan Planning Commission, he made a report on the discrimination between East and West Pakistan and that was the first submitted report on that issue in Pakistan National Congress. He was the first diplomat of Washington Embassy who showed his consent in favour of Bangladesh giving up the side of Pakistan during the Independence War of 1971. He was appointed as the Secretary of Planning in 1972 and Secretary of the External Resource Department of Finance and Planning Ministry in 1977.
Retirement and return
Muhith went for self-retirement in 1981 from his service and then he started his second innings of his career as the specialist of economics and development in Ford Foundation and in the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). He became Finance and Planning Minister in 1982–83. Next, he worked as the specialist of different institutions of World Bank and the United Nations. He has been a recognised figure in the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, IDB and in different organisations of United Nations. He was the Visiting Fellow of Princeton University in 1984 and 1985.
He took oath as the Finance Minister of Bangladesh government on 6 January 2009 and in August 2009 he was inaugurated the building of the Benapole Customs and Immigration Check Post.[5]
Works
- History of Bangladesh : A Subcontinental Civilisation (2016)[6]
Criticism
Muhith had faced criticism for his handling of the 2011 share market crash.[7][8] He admitted to his mistakes in decisions related to the stock market in addition to the mistakes of the Security and Exchange Commission.[9] Although the opposition leaders and protesting investors had called for his resignation, he refused and defended his position.[8] He had appointed a probe committee to investigate the allegations against the Security Exchange Commission, however this also attracted criticism towards him as he consequently refused to publicly disclose the names of those accused of chicanery by this committee. Muhith became the center of a criticism after he had commented on the Hallmark money scam that the Tk 4,000 crore embezzled was a "meager amount". He later apologized for his statement.[10] Muhith had been criticised for consistently insulting Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus and terming his comments as "totally rubbish" and also for saying Yunus has no integrity over the Grameen Bank issue.[11] In September 2015, Muhith faced widespread criticisms for his remarks against the movement of public university teachers of Bangladesh seeking for a separate pay scale. He later apologized for his remarks. At the same time, controversy was caused by VAT being imposed on the Bangladeshi private university education system:[12] Muhith defended this decision.[13]
References
- ^ "Muhith wants to retire | Dhaka Tribune". www.dhakatribune.com. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
- ^ "Muhith responds to Badruddoza's remarks, says retirement is a better option for 'us'". bdnews24.com. 18 February 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
- ^ Muhith's life entwined with Bangladesh–The Daily Star
- ^ "A Brief Lifesketch of Finance Minister". Ministry of Finance, Government of The People's Republic of Bangladesh.
- ^ Padmanabhan, Mohan (10 August 2009). "Petrapole, Benapole Customs points to get facelift soon". The Financial Express. Retrieved 14 August 2009.
- ^ Alam, Shahid (19 September 2016). "Quest for knowing and understanding Bangladesh". The Daily Star. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
- ^ "Muhith must resign for stock crash". The Daily Star. 24 January 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
- ^ a b "I won't resign: Muhith". bdnews24.com. 20 June 2011. Archived from the original on 21 March 2012. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Stock crash: Muhith admits mistakes". The Independent Bangladesh. 22 January 2011. Archived from the original on 31 March 2012. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ New Age | Newspaper Archived 16 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Muhith terms Yunus’s remarks totally rubbish Archived 27 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Private university students in Dhaka protest VAT on tuition fees
- ^ "Universities, not students to pay VAT: Muhith; Says comment about public university teachers was a misunderstanding". Retrieved 14 January 2016.
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