Chief Adviser (Bangladesh)

Chief Adviser of The People's Republic of Bangladesh
গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশের প্রধান উপদেষ্টা
Seal of the Chief Adviser
Standard of the Chief Adviser
Incumbent Muhammad Yunus since 8 August 2024
Appointer	President of Bangladesh
Term length	90 days, or until the next general election is held and a new Prime Minister takes office
Precursor	Prime minister of Bangladesh
Inaugural holder	Muhammad Habibur Rahman
Formation	1996
Website	cao.gov.bd

The Chief Adviser is the title of both the head of the abolished caretaker government and the 2024 interim government of Bangladesh, who serves as the head of government for 90 days during the transition period between one elected government and another. With powers roughly equivalent to those of the prime minister of an elected government, his executive power is limited by the constitution. The Chief Adviser leads an Advisory Committee comprising several advisers all of them selected from among politically neutral individuals so as to be acceptable to all major political parties. Muhammad Yunus has been Chief Adviser of Bangladesh since 8 August 2024.

History

The caretaker government system of Bangladesh was introduced in 1991 through the passage of the 13th amendment to the constitution. The system was formed to hold democratic elections after military dictator, Hussain Muhammad Ershad, was removed from power. The amendment recommended making the last retired chief justice the chief adviser. In 1996 Justice Muhammad Habibur Rahman was appointed the chief adviser of the caretaker government. He along with the President of Bangladesh, Abdur Rahman Biswas, prevented the 1996 Bangladesh coup d'état attempt. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party had some difficult appointing a Chief adviser to the caretaker government which led to the 2006–08 Bangladeshi political crisis. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party appointed President Iajuddin Ahmed the chief adviser to the caretaker government but he faced demands for resignation from Bangladesh Awami League. Iajuddin Ahmed was replaced by Fakhruddin Ahmed. During the crisis the military-backed caretaker government was led by Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed. Fakhruddin Ahmed appointed three special assistants to himself who were given the rank of a state minister. The assistants were Barrister Debashis Roy, Brigadier General M. A. Malek, and Professor M Tamim. There was some debate about the constitutional validity of the assistant to the chief advisers.

The caretaker government system was scrapped along with the 13th amendment in 2011 through the passage of the 15th amendment of the constitution to allow the elected government to conduct any General Election in future. Past Chief Justice of Bangladesh Mr. Justice A.B.M. Khairul Haque, who was the 19th Chief Justice of Bangladesh when he delivered the verdict which declared the Caretaker Government illegal and unconstitutional.

The office was restored in 2024 under the extra-constitutional setup of an interim government, following the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Composition of the non-party caretaker government

1. Non-Party Care-Taker Government shall consist of the Chief Adviser at its head and ten or fewer other Advisers, all of whom shall be appointed by the President.
2. The Chief Adviser and other Advisers shall be appointed within fifteen days after Parliament is dissolved or stands dissolved, and during the period between the date on which Parliament is dissolved or stands dissolved and the date on which the Chief Adviser is appointed, the Prime Minister and his cabinet who were in office immediately before Jatiyo Sangshad (Parliament) was dissolved or stood dissolved shall continue to hold office as such.
3. The President shall appoint as Chief Adviser the person who among the retired Chief Justice of Bangladesh retired last and who is qualified to be appointed as an Adviser under this article: Provided that if such retired Chief Justice is not available or is not willing to hold the office of Chief Adviser, the President shall appoint as Chief Adviser the person who among the retired Chief Justice of Bangladesh retired next before the last retired Chief Justice.
4. If no retired Chief Justice is available or willing to hold the office of Chief Adviser, the President shall appoint as Chief Adviser the person who among the retired Judges of the Appellate Division retired last and who is qualified to be appointed as an Adviser under this article: Provided that if such retired Judge is not available or is not willing to hold the office of Chief Adviser, the President shall appoint as Chief Adviser the person who among the retired Judges of the Appellate Division retired next before the last such retired Judge.
5. If no retired judge of the Appellate Division is available or willing to hold the office of Chief Adviser, the President shall, after consultation, as far as practicable, with the major political parties, appoint the Chief Adviser from among citizens of Bangladesh who are qualified to be appointed as Advisers under this article.
6. Notwithstanding anything contained in this Chapter, if the provisions of clauses (3), (4) and (5) cannot be given effect to, the President shall assume the functions of the Chief Adviser of the Non-Party Care-taker Government in addition to his own functions under this Constitution.
7. The President shall appoint Advisers from among the persons who are
   1. qualified for election as members of parliament;
   2. not members of any political party or of any organisation associated with or affiliated to any political party;
   3. not, and have agreed in writing not to be, candidates for the ensuing election of members of parliament;
   4. not over seventy-two years of age.
8. The Advisers shall be appointed by the President on the advice of the Chief Adviser.
9. The Chief Adviser or an Adviser may resign his office by writing under his hand addressed to the President.
10. The Chief Adviser or an Adviser shall cease to be Chief Adviser or Adviser if he is disqualified to be appointed as such under this article.
11. The Chief Adviser shall have the status, and shall be entitled to the remuneration and privileges, of a Prime Minister and an Adviser shall have the status, and shall be entitled to the remuneration and privileges, of a Minister.
12. The Non-Party Care-taker Government shall stand dissolved on the date on which the Prime Minister enters upon his office after the constitution of the new parliament.

List of chief advisers of Bangladesh

There has been 6 Chief Advisors of Bangladesh so far.

#	Name (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Entered office	Left office	Tenure	Political party
Caretaker government of Bangladesh
1	Muhammad Habibur Rahman (1928–2014)		30 March 1996	23 June 1996	85 days	Independent
2	Latifur Rahman (1936–2017)		15 July 2001	10 October 2001	87 days	Independent
3	Iajuddin Ahmed (1931–2012) President		29 October 2006	11 January 2007	74 days	Independent
–	Fazlul Haque (1938–) Acting		11 January 2007	12 January 2007	1 day	Independent
4	Fakhruddin Ahmed (1940–)		12 January 2007	6 January 2009	1 year, 360 days	Independent (with military support)
2024 Bangladesh interim government
5	Muhammad Yunus (1940–)		8 August 2024	Incumbent	2 days	Independent

External links

• Khairul Haque made CJ [1]