Former foreign secretary of Bangladesh Faruq Ahmed Choudhury passes away

Former Foreign Secretary Ambassador Faruq Ahmed Choudhury has passed away at 83.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 17 May 2017, 03:52 AM
Updated : 17 May 2017, 06:34 AM

He had been suffering from multiple diseases of heart, liver and kidney.

Choudhury died at around 4:30 am at Square Hospitals in Dhaka, former foreign secretary Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury told bdnews24.com.

President Md Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina have expressed their deep sorrow at Choudhury’s death.

Born in 1934, Choudhury entered the Pakistan Foreign Service in 1956. He served in Italy, China, Netherlands and Algeria, besides the usual time in Pakistan foreign office.

In Bangladesh, he was appointed the first Chief of Protocol in 1972, his profile in the foreign ministry website indicates.

Later he served as Deputy High Commissioner in London from 1972-76.

During this period, according to the foreign ministry, he was involved with final phase of the negotiations leading to Bangladesh's entry to the Commonwealth.

From 1976-78, he was Ambassador to UAE and Bahrain and from 1978-82 he was Ambassador to EEC and Benelux countries.

After returning to Dhaka in 1982, he became the Chief Coordinator of the 13th OIC Foreign Ministers' Meeting held in Dhaka in 1983.

From 1983-84, he was Additional Foreign Secretary in the Ministry.

He became Foreign Secretary in 1984 and continued in that position upto 1986.

He then served as Bangladesh High Commissioner to India from 1986-92.

After retirement from the government service in 1992, he authored 12 books. He also served the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), one of the largest NGOs of the world, in different capacities.

Choudhury was the eldest son among four brothers and two sisters. One of Choudhury’s brothers, former secretary Enam Ahmed Chowdhury is an adviser to the BNP chairperson. Another brother, former diplomat Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, was at one time a foreign affairs advisor to the caretaker government. The last, former ambassador Masum Ahmed Chowdhury, passed away in 2012.

Among Choudhury’s sisters, Nasim Hai is the wife of martyred freedom fighter Col Syed Abdul Hai. Choudhury’s youngest sister, Nina Ahmed, married Fakhruddin Ahmed who served as the chief advisor to the caretaker government from 2007-08.

Faruk Choudhury and his wife Zeenat Choudhury have two children: businessman Adnan Choudhury and Farzana Ahmed, who lives in Australia.  

Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury said Choudhury’s first namaz-e-janaja will be held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after johr prayer, and then after asr at Baitul Aman Mosque in Dhanmondi 7.

He will be laid to rest at Azimpur graveyard.