Shirin Sharmin elected parliament speaker for third time, Fazle Rabbi Miah deputy speaker

Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury has been made parliament speaker for the third time with Md Fazle Rabbi Miah as deputy speaker.

They were elected at the beginning of the first day of session of the 11th parliament that began on Wednesday afternoon.

Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader proposed Shirin Sharmin for the position of speaker, which was seconded by Noor-E-Alam Chowdhury.

The session at first was being presided over by Deputy Speaker Fazle Rabbi Mia, who was later re-elected to the post. 

The session then adjourned for a shot break and the newly-elected speaker and deputy speaker went up to the president’s office in parliament where they took oath of office.

Chaudhury became Bangladesh’s first woman speaker in 2013, towards the end of ninth parliament. Her predecessor Abdul Hamid had been elected president following the death of President Zillur Rahman.

Before that she served as state minister for women and children affairs after being elected an MP from a reserved seat in the ninth parliament.

She did not get Awami League’s ticket to run from her hometown in Noakhali’s Chatkhil before the 2014 election.

Chaudhury then sought the ruling party’s ticket for a reserved seat MP.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina gave Chaudhury one of her seats -- Rangpur-6 (Peerganj) and nominated her for a by-poll. She was elected to parliament without contested at that time. She was elected to the 11th parliament from the same seat.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in an election rally at Rangpur, had hinted that Chaudhury would remain speaker of the House.

A lawyer by profession, Chaudhury was born in Dhaka on Oct 6 of 1966.

Her father Rafiqullah Chaudhury was secretary to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and her mother Prof Naiyar Sultana was a member of Bangladesh Public Service Commission.