London, Dec 4 (bdnews24.com) — A F M Abul Fateh, the first foreign secretary of Bangladesh and the senior most diplomat in the Mujibnagar administration, has passed away following old-age complications.
His son Anatul Fateh confirmed bdnews24.com that the diplomat passed away at around 1:45am (BDST) on Saturday in London.
He is survived by wife Mahfuza, two sons, two granddaughters and a grandson.
Born on May 16, 1924 in Kishoreganj, Fateh passed his Matriculation exams from Ramkrishna High English School in Kishoreganj in 1941.
After passing his Intermediate exams from Ananda Mohan College in Mymensingh in 1943, he completed his bachelor's and master's degrees in English Literature from Dhaka University.
He started his career by teaching English Literature at Brindaban College in Sylhet. During this time, he attended the first Foreign Service examination of the Pakistani government in 1948.
He joined the first batch of Pakistan Foreign Service trainees in 1949. On completion, he held important Foreign Service offices in Pakistani embassies in France, India, America, and other parts of the world.
Following the Pakistani military crackdown in March 1971 and the start of the Liberation War, Fateh defected from the Pakistani Foreign Service after emptying the Pakistani Embassy bank account in Iraq and fled to London. He gave the funds to the freedom fighters.
These events were chronicled in a 2003 National Geographic Channel television documentary, Running for Freedom.
Fateh was a strong voice for the Bangladeshi cause and was responsible for advocating supports of various countries for the Liberation War.
After the independence, Fateh worked for earning recognition of foreign countries for the newly formed country and aid for the war-torn nation. He served in the country's missions to various foreign countries.
His last post was as ambassador in Algiers before retiring in 1982. He lived with his wife in Dhaka for 10 years before they settled in London.
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