Syed Ashraf’s first death anniversary

The first death anniversary of former general secretary of Awami League and public administration minister Syed Ashraful Islam will be observed today.

Syed Ashraf was the eldest son of Syed Nazrul Islam, acting president of the 1971 Mujibnagar government in.

Marking the day, the ruling party will pay homage to him by placing wreaths at his grave in Banani, reports BSS.

Born in Mymensingh in 1952, Ashraf started his political career during his student years with Chhatra League and became general secretary of its greater Mymensingh district unit. He was a member of the Mukti Bahini during the Liberation War.

Following the killing of his father on November 3, 1975, inside Dhaka Central Jail along with the three national leaders, he left the country for the UK. There, he engaged in activism with the Bangladeshi community, and worked to organise Awami League in the UK.

On his return home in 1996, he was elected MP and served as the state minister for civil aviation and tourism ministry from 1996-2001. During his second term in parliament from 2001-2006, he was a member of the House committee on foreign affairs.

After the 2008 election win, he became minister for the Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives. Later in July 2015, he was given the charge of the public administration ministry, a post he held till his death.

During the turbulent times of the 1/11 changeover, Ashraf, together with another AL veteran Zillur Rahman, ran the party when Sheikh Hasina was in jail.

Later, he was elected party general secretary in 2009 and 2012. He was made a presidium member of the party in 2016.

Ashraf, one of the brightest stars in Bangladesh politics, was known for his honesty, humility and simplicity. He was a charismatic leader too, but more than anything else, he commanded respect from across the political spectrum, a rarity in Bangladesh politics.

Ashraf, who stood by his party -- Awami League -- in good times and bad, died on January 3, 2019 at Bumrungrad International Hospital in Thailand at the age of 68.

His death came just four days after he was elected MP from Kishoreganj-1, a constituency he represented since 1996.