Saifur Rahman

Saifur Rahman সাইফুর রহমান
Saifur Rahman in March 2005
Member of Parliament for Sylhet-1
In office 29 October 2001 – 28 December 2006
Preceded by	Humayun Rashid Chowdhury
Succeeded by	Abul Maal Abdul Muhith
Personal details
Born	October 6, 1932(1932-10-06) Baharmardan, Maulvi Bazar District, British India
Died	September 5, 2009(2009-09-05) (aged 76) Ashuganj, Brahmanbaria, Bangladesh
Political party	Bangladesh Nationalist Party
Alma mater	Dhaka University
Occupation	Chartered Accountant
Religion	Islam

Mohammad Saifur Rahman (October 6, 1932 – September 5, 2009; Bengali: মোহাম্মদ সাইফুর রহমান), was a Bangladeshi 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.

Life and career

Saifur Rahman, son of Abdul Basit, was born on October 6, 1932, in the village of Baharmardan located in Maulvibazar Sadar 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.

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) 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.

Politics

Rahman joined a political coalition called the Jatiyatabadi Ganatantrik Dal 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.

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 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 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.

Awards

• Ekushey Padak, 2005 for role in Bengali Language Movement