Dhaka: Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir is the current Secretary General of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) since March 30, 2016. Before this, he served as the Acting Secretary General of the party for five years, starting from March 20, 2011, a PID handout revealed today.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, Alamgir’s political career began during his student days in the 1960s at Dhaka University, where he was actively involved with the East Pakistan Students Union, the student wing of the East Pakistan Communist Party. His leadership roles at the university included Secretary General of the Dhaka University S.M. Hall unit and later President of the university unit during the mass uprising against President Ayub Khan in 1969, leading to his imprisonment for political reasons.
Alamgir’s journey into active politics was marked by his resignation from a government job in 1986. In 1988, he was elected Chairman of Thakurgaon Municipality as a neutral candidate. His association with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) began in the early 1990s during the anti-Ershad movement, and he became the President of the Thakurgaon District BNP in 1992.
Throughout his career, Alamgir has held various significant positions. Notably, he served as a Member of Parliament in the 8th National Parliamentary Election in 2001 from the Thakurgaon-01 constituency and took on roles as State Minister for the Ministry of Agriculture and for Civil Aviation and Tourism from 2001 to 2006. He also contested the 9th Parliamentary Election in 2008.
Alamgir’s family has a rich political heritage. His father, Mirza Ruhul Amin, was a prominent lawyer and politician who served as Minister of Agriculture and was elected Member of Parliament multiple times from the Thakurgaon constituency. His uncle, Mirza Ghulam Hafiz, also held significant political roles, including Minister of Land and Speaker of the National Parliament. Another uncle, Wing Commander S.R. Mirza, contributed to the Mujibnagar Government in exile during the liberation war of 1971.
Alamgir is married to Rahat Ara Begum, an alumna of the University of Calcutta, who is currently employed at an insurance company in Dhaka. The couple has two daughters, both of whom are accomplished in their own right. Mirza Shamaruh is a post-doctoral fellow in Australia, while the younger daughter, Mirza Safaruh, is a teacher in Dhaka. Alamgir’s younger brother, Mirza Faisal Amin, serves as the General Secretary of the Thakurgaon District BNP and is the elected Chairman of Thakurgaon Municipality.