Latifur Rahman’s chehlum held

The chehlum of Latifur Rahman, the late chairman and managing director of Transcom Group, was held at his Gulshan home after Maghreb prayers yesterday.

The event was attended by his immediate family members, near relatives and a close-knit group of friends and admirers.

Prayers were offered for his departed soul and the blessings of the Almighty.

Prayers were also offered for Latifur's daughter Shazneen Rahman, who was brutally murdered in 1998, and for his grandson Faraaz Ayaaz Hossain, one of three Bangladeshi victims of the terrorist attack at the Holey Artisan Bakery in 2016.

Latifur breathed his last on July 1 this year at his ancestral home in Cumilla after a prolonged bout of lung-related illness. He was buried at Banani graveyard that day.

Latifur was an iconic figure in the business world and highly respected nationally and internationally for his ethical business practices for which he received many global and regional awards.

He was the founding director of Mediaworld, the owning company of The Daily Star, and the chairman of Mediastar, the owning company of Prothom Alo -- leading English and Bangla newspapers of the country. He was a driving spirit behind the establishment of The Daily Star.

Latifur was a member of the executive board of ICC-Paris, vice president of ICC-Bangladesh and member of Brac's governing body.

He was also a member of Bangladesh Better Business Forum and Advisory Committee on World Trade Organization.

Latifur had been president of the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dhaka for seven terms.

He was also chairman of the Bangladesh government's Trade Body Reforms Committee and a member of Bangladesh Bank's executive board.

Latifur was an honouree of "Oslo Business for Peace Award 2012" and was awarded Business Executive of the Year 2001 by the American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh.

He had also been honoured with the "SAARC Outstanding Leader" award and Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the UK Bangladesh Catalysts of Commerce and Industry.

Latifur started his career in 1966 in his family-owned jute mills in Chandpur. He worked as an executive in the mills till 1971.

He established Transcom Group in 1973 after W Rahman Jute Mills, the major earning source for the Rahman family, was nationalised in 1972.

In the 1980s, Latifur became the sole importer and distributor of Nestlé products in Bangladesh. In the 1990s, he bought Smith, Kline & French, and a US-based pharmaceutical, later known as Eskayef.

He was married to Shahnaz Rahman. They have three daughters Simeen Hossain, Shahzreh Huq, (late) Shazneen Rahman and a son, Arshad Waliur Rahman.