Shahabuddin sworn in as President of Bangladesh

April 25, 2023 00:00:00

Jatiya Sangsad Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury administers oath of office to Md Sahabuddin, the 22nd President of Bangladesh, at Bangabhaban in Dhaka on Monday. Outgoing President Md Abdul Hamid was also present. — PID

Mohammed Shahabuddin was Monday sworn in as the 22nd President of Bangladesh.

Jatiya Sangsad Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury administered the oath of office to the new President at a ceremony at Bangabhaban at 11am.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, cabinet members and scores of distinguished guests attended the event. Family members of the new president, including his wife Dr Rebecca Sultana, attended the function, reports UNB.

Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique, Members of Parliament, the chief election commissioner, Supreme Court judges, political leaders, chiefs of the three services, diplomats, senior journalists, and high-ranking civil and military officials witnessed the oath-taking event.

Cabinet Secretary Md Mahbub Hossain conducted the programme.

Shahbuddin succeeds Md Abdul Hamid, whose second successive term ended Sunday.

Shahabuddin, 73, was elected president unopposed on February 13 this year as a candidate of the ruling Awami League.

During his student life, he had served as an activist and president of the Pabna Chhatra League and later took over the responsibility of the Pabna Juba League as its president. In 1971, he was the convenor of Swadhin Bangla Chhatra Sangram Parishad of Pabna and also actively participated in the Liberation War.

He was imprisoned following the brutal assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1975.

He was later appointed Law Ministry's coordinator in the Bangabandhu assassination case. In 1982, he joined the BCS (Judicial) Department, and in 1995, he was elected general secretary of the Judicial Service Association.

He also served as the chairman of the Judicial Inquiry Commission which investigated murders, rapes, thefts and other crimes allegedly committed by BNP-Jamaat alliance's activists following the 2001 general election.

He also worked as a district and sessions judge before retiring in 2006. He was a commissioner at the Anti-Corruption Commission from 2011 to 2016.

Shahabuddin's wife, Rebecca Sultana, is a former joint secretary of the government.