Founding Members

List of

Founding Members

Founder

Late Mr. Md. Abdus Samad Azad

Then Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bangladesh

He was elected to Bangladesh’s Parliament five times from 1970 to 2001 and was the political advisor of the Provincial Government of Bangladesh at Mujibnagar during the liberation war. He led the Bangladesh Government delegation to the World Peace Conference in Budapest, Hungary in 1971.He became Honorary President of World Peace Council and also was elected as Chairman of the Commission Peace and security in Asia of the Council in 1973.

Dr. Kamal Hossain

Then Minister of Law, Bangladesh

Dr Kamal Hossain is a prominent statesman, politician and lawyer. After the independence of Bangladesh, he served as the Minister of Law (1972–1973), Minister of Foreign Affairs (1973–1975) and Minister of Petroleum and Minerals (1974–1975). One of his earliest tasks as the Minister of Law was the drafting of the Constitution of Bangladesh for which he is regarded as the Father of the Bangladeshi Constitution. Between 1998 and 2003, he served as the UN Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan. He is currently a member of the UN Compensation Commission, Vice Chairman of the International Law Association in London, Chairman of both the Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) and the South Asian Institute of Advanced Legal and Human Rights Studies (SAILS) and Advisory Council member for Transparency International.

Dr. Kamal Hossain

Then Minister of Law, Bangladesh

Barrister M. Amir-Ul Islam

Then Principal Advisor to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh

Barrister M. Amir-ul Islam, born on 2nd January, 1937, was an elected Member of the National Assembly in the-then all Pakistan based National Elections held in 1970 where Bangabandhu-led Awami League won a landslide victory. A renowned politician and freedom fighter; Mr. Islam is the author of the Proclamation of Independence of Bangladesh (1971) and was a special Aide to the first Prime Minister (PM) of Bangladesh and maintained liaison with the PM of India, Mrs Indira Gandhi, during the Liberation war of Bangladesh.

Mr. Islam was one of the key figures in supervising and mandating Bangladesh’s Liberation War efforts in 1971; and initiated numerous diplomatic missions which toured world capitals advocating the Bangladesh cause to win international support and recognition of Bangladesh as a sovereign and independent nation. After Bangladesh came into being, like all other great leaders, he also took great pains to build up the new country a self-reliant and flourishing economy. He worked tirelessly with other Cabinet members of Bangabandhu-led government in rebuilding Bangladesh’s economy and infrastructure, especially in the countryside.

He played very important role as Whip of the Constituent Assembly and as a honourable Member of the drafting committee of Bangladesh Constitution, 1972. He has held several positions, including Minister for Food, 1973-1974, Honorary Secretary General, Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs (BILIA), 1972, former president of Supreme Court Bar Association and elected head of Bangladesh Bar Council. Moreover, he is the founder Chairman of the Legal Education and Training Institute (LETI), a founder member of Saarc Law and later became the President of this regional Professional Association of Lawyers, endorsed by the Hon’able Chief Justices of all the respective Saarc countries and recognized by the Saarc Secretariat. He also served at the UN headquarters, NY and worked towards harmonisation of International Commercial Law with UNCITRAL.

Mr. Islam is one of the most senior advocates of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh and regarded and revered as a living legend by his community.

Late Mr. Md. Saifur Rahman

Then Specialist in Monetary, Fiscal and Development Economics

Late Mr Saifur Rahman was an eminent Bangladeshi statesman, economist and politician. He was a leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the longest-serving Finance Minister of Bangladesh, a post he held under three different governments (1979 to 1982; 1991 to 1996; 2001 to 2006). In 1994, he was elected Governor of the Golden Jubilee Conference of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in Madrid, Spain. In 2005, Rahman was awarded Ekushey Padak, the highest state honor of Bangladesh.

Late Mr. Md. Saifur Rahman

Then Specialist in Monetary, Fiscal and Development Economics

Late Mr. S.A.M.S Kibria

Then Secretary, Bangladesh Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Late Mr. Justice F.K.M.A Munim

Then Secretary, Bangladesh Ministry of Law & Parliamentary Affairs

Late Mr Fazle Kaderi Mohammad Abdul Munim was an eminent Bangladeshi jurist and lawyer, who served as the Chief Justice of Bangladesh (1982-1989) and Chairman of the Law Commission. He was appointed Advocate General of East Pakistan in 1970. In the same year he was elevated to the position of a judge in the Dhaka High Court. After the emergence of Bangladesh Munim was appointed a judge of the High Court but was soon appointed as Secretary of the Ministry of Law Justice and Parliamentary Affairs and was closely associated with the drafting of the Constitution of Bangladesh. In 1973 he returned to the High Court Division as a judge and was made the Chief Justice of Bangladesh in 1982 and retired from his post in November 1989. On 6 August 1996, he was made the chairman of Bangladesh Law Commission.

Late Mr. Justice F.K.M.A Munim

Then Secretary, Bangladesh Ministry of Law & Parliamentary Affairs

Dr. Nurul Islam

Then Deputy Chairman of the Bangladesh Planning Commission

Late Mr. Kamruddin Ahmed

Then Advocate, Supreme Court of Bangladesh

Late Mr. Ahmed (1912-1982) was a prominent lawyer, diplomat and politician who also achieved considerable fame as a writer. He was the Deputy High Commissioner of Pakistan in Calcutta (1957-1958) and later entered the legal profession in 1962. He was the General Secretary of Trade Union Federation, and President of the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh (1976-1978). Kamruddin Ahmed authored of a number of bestselling books which include A Socio-Political History of Bengal and the Birth of Bangladesh, The Labour Movement in Bangladesh, Purba Bamglar Samaj O Rajneeti, Bamglar Madhyabitter Atmabikax and Swadhin Bamglar Abhyuday Ebong Atapar.

Late Mr. Kamruddin Ahmed

Then Advocate, Supreme Court of Bangladesh

Late Dr. Muzaffar Ahmed Chowdhury

Then Vice-Chancellor of the University of Dhaka

Late Mr. Chowdhury was an educationist and political thinker. He was appointed as the Minister of Education of the Government of Bangladesh for two terms and served as the Chairman of University Grants Commission, Bangladesh, in the year 1973. He was a constitutional adviser to the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan from October 1955 to February 1956, and had been a representative of Pakistan to the General Assembly of the United Nations Organisation (UNO) from November 1956 to February 1957. He was also the political adviser to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman from February 1969 to March 1971