Major (Retd.) Hafiz Uddin Ahmed (Bir Bikrom), the current Minister for Liberation War Affairs, has been elected as the Speaker of the 13th National Parliament. The first session, which began on Thursday (12 March) at 11 a.m., was presided over by Dr. Khandakar Mosharraf Hossain, a senior BNP leader. Dr. Mosharraf Hossain proposed Hafiz Uddin Ahmed’s name, which was then endorsed by the MPs and formally adopted.
This session marked a departure from tradition. Normally, the outgoing speaker or Deputy Speaker presides over the first session of a new parliament, but due to the resignation of former Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury in September 2024 and the imprisonment of outgoing Deputy Speaker Shamsul Haque (Tuku), senior BNP leader Dr. Mosharraf Hossain assumed the role of presiding officer.
Hafiz Uddin Ahmed has a distinguished political and personal history. He was awarded the Bir Bikrom, the third-highest gallantry award in Bangladesh, for his exceptional courage during the Liberation War of 1971. Before his political career, he was a notable athlete, having been the captain of the then Pakistan national football team and the fastest man in East Pakistan three years in a row starting 1964.
He entered politics following his father, Dr. Azhar Uddin, a twice-elected member of the Pakistan Provincial Assembly (1963 & 1965). Hafiz Uddin Ahmed was elected to parliament from Bhola-3 as a Jatiya Party candidate in 1986 and 1988, later winning as an independent candidate in 1991, defeating both Awami League and BNP contenders. He joined BNP in 1992 and won subsequent elections in 1996, 2001, and after the 2024 mass uprising, he returned to parliament for the seventh time.
He has served in multiple ministerial roles, including State Minister for Commerce (1996), Minister of Jute (2001–2003), and Minister of Water Resources (2003–2006), and has held senior positions within BNP, including Vice Chairman and Standing Committee member. Currently 81 years old, Hafiz Uddin Ahmed continues to lead Bangladesh’s Liberation War Affairs Ministry while presiding over parliament as Speaker for the first time.
