An economist, bureaucrat and ex-caretaker govt adviser: Akbar Ali Khan dies at 78

The former adviser to the caretaker government was unwell for a few days, his brother says

Akbar Ali Khan, an economist, a bureaucrat and a former adviser to the military-controlled caretaker government, died of a “heart attack” at the age of 78 at a hospital in Dhaka.

His brother Kabir Uddin Khan said Akbar fell ill suddenly on Thursday night and was rushed to Evercare Hospital where the doctors declared him dead at 10:20 pm on Thursday.

Born in 1944 at Nabinagar in Brahamanbaria, he studied history at Dhaka University. He later obtained a master’s degree and PhD in economics from Queen’s University in Canada.

He joined the civil service in 1967 and actively participated in the Liberation War. He worked for the provisional government of Bangladesh as a deputy secretary of defence.

He also worked as a teacher at Jahangirnagar University, Bangladesh Public Administration Training Center and BRAC University.

He served as Bangladesh’s finance secretary for more than five and a half years covering three consecutive governments.

He was the adviser in charge of the ministries of finance, planning and commerce to the caretaker government in 2006, but later resigned.

He also served as the first chairman of the Regulatory Reforms Commission from 2007-2009.

He wrote 14 books and a number of articles on economics, history, public administration, literature and water resources in national and international journals.