Abdul Hamid sworn in as Bangladesh president for second term

Md Abdul Hamid has been sworn in as President of Bangladesh for the second consecutive term.

Parliament Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury administered the oath at the Bangabhaban around 7:45pm on Tuesday.

Hamid is the only Bangladeshi to hold the office twice on trot. It is his final stint as the Constitution allows a maximum of two terms.

On Apr 24, 2013, Hamid was sworn in as the 20th president of Bangladesh. Since independence, 16 people have headed the state for 19 terms. Hamid is the 17th person to serve as president.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain, members of Hamid’s family, Cabinet members, MPs, chiefs of the three forces, Bangladeshi and foreign diplomats, top brasses of the media, and representatives of professionals were present.

Hamid and his wife Rashida Khanam welcomed Bangabandhu’s daughters Hasina and Sheikh Rehana when they reached the Bangabhaban.

They, along with Speaker Shirin Sharmin, went to the Bangabhaban’s Darbar Hall. A band from the military played ceremonial music at the time.

Then Hamid and Shirin got on the stage. Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam moderated the oath-taking ceremony.

Clad a white panjabi and Mujib coat, the president greeted everyone after being sworn in. He then signed the oath of office document.

The president spoke to Hasina after getting off the stage. The head of government, her sister Rehana and the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament Raushon Ershad greeted him with flowers.

Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda, Deputy Speaker Fazle Rabbi Miah, Deputy Leader of the House Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury, Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu, Social Welfare Minister Rashed Khan Menon, Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader, Housing and Public Works Minister Mosharraf Hossain, Law Minister Anisul Huq, Foreign minister AH Mahmood Ali attended the ceremony.

Communist Party of Bangladesh President Mujahidul Islam Selim and Dhaka South Mayor Sayeed Khokon also joined the event.

Also in attendance were Prof Anisuzzaman, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam, bdnews24.com Editor-in-Chief Toufique Imrose Khalidi, Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists President Manjurul Ahsan Bulbul and National Press Club General Secretary Farida Yasmin, among others, were present.

Among the diplomats, there were US Ambassador Marcia Bernicat, Chinese Ambassador Zhang Zuo, Indian High Commissioner Harsh Vardhan Shringla, Dean of Diplomatic Corps and Vatican Ambassador Archbishop George Kocherry, UN Resident Representative Mia Seppa, and European Union Ambassador Rensje Teerink.

The Election Commission on Feb 7 declared Hamid, the ruling Awami League’s candidate, elected unopposed.

On Wednesday, the President Guard Regiment will give Hamid a guard of honour at the Bangabhaban. He will pay respect to the war martyrs by placing wreath on the National Memorial in Savar in the afternoon.

From Savar, he will visit the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum in Dhanmondi and place wreath on the mural of the Father of the Nation.

He will travel to Gopalganj’s Tuingiparha to pay respect to Bangabandhu at his grave.

On Friday, he will visit his own Upazila Mithamoin in Kishoreganj.

Born at Kamalpur village on Jan 1, 1944, Hamid feels more comfortable to identify himself as a man from Haor or backswamp.

His political career began when he joined Bangladesh Chhatra League in 1959. He had to go to jail when he was a student in 1961 after joining the movement against Pakistani ruler Ayub Khan.

In the 1970 elections, he was elected as the youngest member of Pakistan National Assembly from Mymensingh-18 constituency. He was awarded the Swadhinata Padak, Bangladesh's highest civilian honour, in 2013 for his contributions during the war of independence.

After independence, he contested the 1973 national elections from the Kishoreganj-5 constituency and won.

He acted as deputy speaker from July 13, 1996 to July 10, 2001. Later, he acted as speaker from Jul 11, 2001 to Oct 28, 2001.

After the 2008 national elections, he was unanimously elected speaker for the second term.

He was hugely popular with the MPs across the political divide for his sense of humour.