Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir | The man who steadied the ship
Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has been appointed as the new President of Bangladesh, drawing on his long history of political activism. The article reflects on his career, noting his dedication to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and his role during the country's formative years.
Why it matters
The leadership transition in Bangladesh is a critical development for regional stability in South Asia.
In 1961, General Ayub Khan’s military government of Pakistan wanted to further entrench its control over East Pakistan and made the celebration of Rabindranath Tagore’s birth centenary illegal. The crackdown had the opposite outcome, as colleges and universities in East Pakistan erupted. The protests shaped a generation of leaders who would take important positions subsequently as Bangladesh became a free country a decade later. Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, the new President of Bangladesh, graduated from Dhaka University during those early years when agitational politics energised the demand for a new country.
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