Dhaka: The government has appointed Md. Shawkat Rashid Chowdhury, Secretary of the Rural Development and Cooperatives Division, as the Chairman of the Land Reform Board (LRB).
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the information was disclosed in a notification issued by the Ministry of Public Administration and signed by its Senior Assistant Secretary, Md. Barman Hossain. Shawkat Rashid Chowdhury is a 15th-batch officer of the BCS (Administration) cadre, having joined government service as an Assistant Commissioner and Magistrate at the Habiganj district administration on November 18, 1995.
Before his current assignment, Chowdhury served as an Additional Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture. He was promoted to the rank of Secretary on November 2, 2025, and subsequently joined the Rural Development and Cooperatives Division as its Secretary on November 3.
In his academic career, Chowdhury completed his SSC from Chattogram Government High School, HSC from Hazi Mohammad Mohsin College, and obtained BSS (Honours) and MSS degrees in Economics from the University of Chittagong. Additionally, he earned a master's degree in Governance Studies from Northern University Bangladesh and another in Financial Economics from the University of Bradford in the United Kingdom.
Throughout his career, Chowdhury has held various significant positions, including Assistant Commissioner (Land), Senior Assistant Secretary, Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO), and Private Secretary to the Divisional Commissioner of Chattogram. At the central administration level, he worked in various capacities in the ministries of Health and Family Welfare, Internal Resources Division, Railways, Disaster Management and Relief, and Agriculture.