Tofail Ahmed (politician)

Bangladeshi Politician, Minister of Commerce, Government of the Republic of Bangladesh

Tofail Ahmed

তোফায়েল আহমেদ

Ahmed at the US Embassy in Dhaka (2018)

Minister of Commerce
In office
12 January 2014 – 6 January 2019
Prime Minister| Sheikh Hasina
Preceded by| GM Quader
Succeeded by| Tipu Munshi
Minister of Industries
In office
14 July 1996 – 13 July 2001
Prime Minister| Sheikh Hasina
Preceded by| Shamsul Islam Khan
Succeeded by| Rezaul Karim Mannan
Member of parliament
In office
12 January 2014 – 6 August 2024
Preceded by| Andaleeve Rahman
In office
5 March 1991 – February 1996
Preceded by| Naziur Rahman Manzur
Succeeded by| Mosharraf Hossain Shahjahan
Constituency| Bhola-1
In office
25 January 2008 – 20 November 2014
Succeeded by| Ali Azam
In office
14 July 1996 – 13 July 2001
Preceded by| Mosharraf Hossain Shahjahan
Succeeded by| Hafiz Ibrahim
In office
10 July 1986 – 6 December 1988
Succeeded by| Mohammad Siddiqur Rahman
Constituency| Bhola-2
In office
7 April 1973 – 6 Nov 1975
Succeeded by| AKM Akhtaruzzaman Alamgir
Constituency| Bakerganj-1 (now defunct)[1]
Personal details
Born|  (1943-10-22) 22 October 1943 (age 81)
Bhola, Bengal Presidency, British India
Nationality| Bangladeshi
Political party| Bangladesh Awami League

Tofail Ahmed (born 22 October 1943)[2] is a Bangladeshi politician. He is a 7-term Jatiya Sangsad member representing the Bhola-1, Bhola-2 and Bakerganj-1 constituencies during 1973–2024. Previously he served as the Minister of Commerce and Minister of Industries of the Government of Bangladesh.[3]

## Early life and education

[edit]

Ahmed making a speech in the 1969 Mass Uprising in Dhaka

Ahmed was born on 22 October 1943 to Bengali Muslim parents Moulvi Azhar Ali and Fatema Begum in the village of Koralia in Bhola Island, then a part of the Backergunge District of the Bengal Presidency in a very poor family.[4]

Ahmed studied at the Bhola Government High School until 1960 and then at the Brojomohun College until 1962. He graduated from the University of Dacca with a Master of Science in Soil science.[5][6]

## Career

[edit]

Mujib addressing at the procession of 1969 mass upsurge, where he was recognized as Bangabandhu by Tofail Ahmed

Ahmed joined the Awami League and in support of the 1966 Six point movement of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.[7] was involved in the 1969 mass uprising in East Pakistan as a student leader.[8] He was the vice-president of Dhaka University Central Students' Union.[9] In 1970, Ahmed was a political secretary of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He was a Bangladesh independence activist one of the organizers of Mujib Bahini during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971.

After the 15 August 1975 Bangladeshi coup d'état and the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Ahmed was detained by the military administration.[10] His Assistant Personal Secretary, Mintu, was tortured to death in custody.[10]

In 1996, prior to the controversial February elections, Ahmed was arrested along with Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami leader Abdul Quader Mollah under the Special Powers Act.[11] He served as the Minister of Commerce in the Awami League government from July 1996 to January 2001.[12][13]

In 2007, while the country went under emergency rule Ahmed was one of the leaders who proposed a reform proposal of Bangladesh Awami League which proposed by the military backed caretaker government and the removal of party chief Sheikh Hasina.[14] After the 2008 general election Awami League formed the government, but Ahmed was dropped from the cabinet despite being one of the influential members of Presidium.[15][16]

Ahmed was the chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Industries Ministry.[17] He is also the member of the advisory committee of the Awami League. Earlier he was one of the influential members of the Awami League presidium. He was elected several times as a member of Jatiya Sangsad from Bhola constituency.[18] He was the Minister of Commerce.[19]

Following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina led Awami League government, Ahmed's home in Bhola was burned down and vandalized in February 2025.[20]

## Personal life

[edit]

Ahmed married Anwara Begum, daughter of Mafizul Haq Taluqdar of Dania, in 1964. They have one daughter, Taslima Ahmed Zaman Munni, who is a doctor. Their son-in-law is Tauhiduzzaman Tuhin, a cardiologist at Square Hospital.[5]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "1st Jatiya Sangsad members" (PDF). parliament.gov.bd.
2. ^ "Constituency 115_11th_En". Bangladesh Parliament. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
3. ^ মাননীয় মন্ত্রিগণ. Government of Bangladesh. Archived from the original on 25 April 2018. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
4. ^ "No council for years in AL top brass' districts". The Daily Star. 13 September 2015. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
5. ^ a b "আজ তোফায়েল আহমেদের জন্মদিন". Jugantor. Archived from the original on 22 October 2019. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
6. ^ "তোফায়েল আহমেদ". Bangladesh National Portal (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 22 October 2019. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
7. ^ Nabī, Nūruna (1 January 2010). Bullets of '71: A Freedom Fighter's Story. AuthorHouse. p. 101\. ISBN 9781452043777.
8. ^ "Hasina asks BCL men to give priority to learning". Prothom Alo. Archived from the original on 6 February 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
9. ^ Rahman, Muhammad Anisur (1 January 2001). My Story of 1971: Through the Holocaust that Created Bangladesh. Liberation War Museum. p. 20.
10. ^ a b Nizam, Naem (10 September 2023). "জাতির পিতার লাশ পড়ে থাকল এলো না কেউ". বাংলাদেশ প্রতিদিন (in Bengali). Retrieved 10 September 2023.
11. ^ "Bangladesh Political Violence on All Sides". Human Rights Watch. 8 (6). 1 June 1996. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
12. ^ Rahman, Syedur (27 April 2010). Historical Dictionary of Bangladesh. Scarecrow Press. p. 335\. ISBN 9780810874534.
13. ^ India-Bangladesh Relations, Documents, 1971–2002: Commerce, economic, and transport. Geetika Publishers. 1 January 2003. pp. 1725–1775\. ISBN 9788190162937.1725-1775&rft.pub=Geetika+Publishers&rft.date=2003-01-01&rft.isbn=9788190162937&rft_id=https://books.google.com/books?id=6BNuAAAAMAAJ&q;=Tofael+Ahmed&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Tofail+Ahmed+(politician)" class="Z3988">
14. ^ "New committee of Bangladesh Awami League – Weekly BLiTZ". Weekly BLiTZ. 22 September 2016. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
15. ^ "Mukul Bose back in Awami League leadership". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
16. ^ Al-Mahmood, Syed Zain (5 January 2014). "Contested Bangladesh Vote Fuels Violence". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
17. ^ "Industries Minister for single digit bank interest to spur industrialisation". The New Nation. Archived from the original on 30 April 2009. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
18. ^ "Bhola townspeople get gas". The Daily Star. 29 August 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
19. ^ "Canadian University of Bangladesh holds education fair". Dhaka Tribune. 30 August 2016. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
20. ^ ডেস্ক, প্রথম আলো (7 February 2025). "গাজীপুর, বরিশালসহ ৩৫ জেলায় হামলা, ভাঙচুর ও আগুন". Prothomalo (in Bengali). Retrieved 6 February 2025.