Published : 23 Aug 2026, 12:50 AM
Updated : 08 Sep 2026, 09:34 AM
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has appointed outgoing information minister Zahir Uddin Swapon as his political advisor.
The Cabinet Division confirmed the appointment on Saturday, with Swapon receiving the rank of a minister.
The appointment comes as the prime minister expands and reshuffles his cabinet for the first time since taking office.
As part of the changes, Tarique inducted four new ministers into his government on Friday, one of whom was previously a state minister.
Two lawmakers were also sworn in as new state ministers, one of them a former advisor to the prime minister.
Cabinet Secretary Nasimul Ghani had announced Swapon's removal from his ministerial post and reassignment as an advisor that same day.
A gazette notification formally appointing him to the role followed the next afternoon.
Bangladesh Jatiya Party Chairman Andaleeve Rahman Partho was sworn in as Swapon's successor at the information ministry on Friday.
Besides Swapon, the prime minister's political advisors are Mirza Abbas, Nazrul Islam Khan and Ruhul Kabir Rizvi.
A native of Gournadi in Barishal, Swapon served as central president of Bangladesh Chhatra Moitree and played a role in the anti-autocracy movement of the 1990s.
He joined the BNP in 1993, and his media ties and communication skills soon made him a prominent figure within the party.
He went on to hold key posts within the party's central committee, serving as information and research affairs secretary and as deputy office secretary.
The founding convenor of the BNP Media Cell, he currently serves as a member of the party chairman's advisory council.
Swapon won his first election on his maiden run, taking the Barishal-1 (Gournadi-Agailjhara) seat.
The government formed following that February 1995 election, however, lasted just 12 days.
He holds a Master's degree in political science from Dhaka University and was re-elected from the same seat in 2001 and 2006.
