Prof. AQM Badruddoza Chowdhury, a former president of Bangladesh, passed away at the age of 94.
His press secretary, Jahangir Alam, confirmed that he passed away this morning at 3:15 a.m. while receiving treatment at the Uttara Women’s Medical College, which he founded.
He is survived by his wife, one son, two daughters, and a large number of family members and well-wishers.
A lung infection led to Badruddoza’s admission to Uttara Women’s Medical College Hospital on October 2. That day, Dr. Shayla Chowdhury, his daughter, revealed that her father had previously experienced ischaemic heart disease.
Born October 11, 1930, in Cumilla City (the renowned ‘Munshif Bari’), Badruddoza was a well-known physician and seasoned politician. His maternal grandparents lived with his parents.
At the time, Advocate Kafil Uddin Chowdhury, his father, was a member of the provincial cabinet of East Pakistan, the general secretary of the United Front, the co-chairman of the Krishak Praja Party, and the founding secretary-general of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. His ancestral home is located in Munshiganj’s Srinagar upazila’s Majidpur Dayahata village.
Badruddoza excelled academically. He passed the ISC in the first division from Dhaka College in 1949 after completing his matriculation in the first division at the renowned St. Gregory’s School in Dhaka in 1947. In 1954–1955, he graduated with his MBBS from Dhaka Medical College. In every exam, he was on the merit list.
Badruddoza was an esteemed FCPS in Bangladesh as well as a fellow of the three Royal Colleges of Physicians (FRCP) in the United Kingdom: London, Edinburgh, and Glasgow.
In addition to being a highly skilled physician and a prominent professor in the field of disease science, he set records as a television presenter of disease science programs. Badruddoza, a distinguished lawmaker, delivered three speeches to the United Nations. He was a prolific writer and the winner of the Independence Award.
In 1978, Badruddoza joined politics at the former president Ziaur Rahman’s request. First elected to the parliament in 1979 from Srinagar, Munshiganj, he served as a cabinet minister. Prior to his re-election in 1991, he served as the minister of education and subsequently took on the role of deputy leader of the parliament. In 1996, he served as Parliament’s opposition deputy leader. He most recently served as the Begum BNP government’s Minister of Foreign Affairs in October and November 2001, following his re-election as a member of parliament.
The People’s Republic of Bangladesh elected Badruddoza as its president on November 14, 2001. On June 21, 2002, he announced his resignation as president for political reasons.
Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh is a political party that Badruddoza founded on May 8, 2004. At the time, he was the party’s president.
His spouse’s name is Hasina Wardah Chowdhury. His eldest daughter, Moona Chowdhury, is a barrister. Shayla Chowdhury, his younger daughter, is a doctor who teaches at Uttara Women’s Medical College in Dhaka. Mahi B. Chowdhury, his lone child, is a well-known politician and media figure.
