Enam Ahmed Chowdhury passes away

Former chairman of the Privatization Commission and retired secretary Enam Ahmed Chowdhury passed away at his residence in Dhaka yesterday afternoon. He was 88.

He was suffering from old-age complications and suddenly fall sick, said his son Nadeem Chowdhury.

"Critically ill, he was rushed to a nearby hospital around 4:30pm where the doctors declared him dead," he said.

Chowdhury's namaz-e-janaza will be held after his daughter reaches Bangladesh from abroad on February 5.

He will be laid to rest at Azimpur Graveyard, Nadeem added.

Chowdhury left behind his wife, a son, and a daughter.

Born on June 29, 1937, in Barokot village of Golapganj, Sylhet, Chowdhury had a distinguished career in civil service and international organisations.

He completed his schooling in Shillong and Mymensingh before earning a bachelor's degree in International Relations and a Master's in Law from Dhaka University, securing first place.

He was active in student politics and played a role in the Language Movement, for which he was expelled from Dhaka College in 1952. 

He joined the Civil Service of Pakistan in 1960 and served as deputy commissioner of Khulna and Jashore before 1971. After independence, he held key positions, including the posts of joint secretary to the industries and commerce ministry and director general of the Export Promotion Bureau. 

Between 1975 and 1981, he was the economic minister at Bangladesh's High Commission in London. He later worked as a UN official in Bangkok and served as secretary of the Economic Relations Division and shipping ministry.

He was also elected president of the International Maritime Organization.

Chowdhury was a vice president of the Islamic Development Bank from 1993 to 1998. From 2001 to 2006, he served as chairman of the Privatization Commission under the BNP-led government, holding the rank of a state minister. 

Enam Ahmed Chowdhury's father, Gias Uddin Ahmed Chowdhury, was a commissioner in Dhaka.

He had four brothers and two sisters.

His eldest brother late Faruq Ahmed Choudhury was a former foreign secretary. Another brother, former career diplomat Iftekhar Ahmed Choudhury, served as the foreign affairs adviser to the military-backed caretaker government of 2007-08. His other brother was former ambassador Masum Ahmed Choudhury, who died in 2012.

Among his sisters, Nasim Hai is the widow of martyred freedom fighter Col Syed Abdul Hai. His youngest sister, Nina Ahmed, married Fakhruddin Ahmed, former chief adviser to the 2007-08 caretaker government.