Ex-Foreign Secretary Muazzem Ali passes away
Former Bangladesh High Commissioner to India Syed Muazzem Ali passed away on Monday (Dec 30) at the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Dhaka.
He was 75.
Muazzem Ali breathed his last around 11:55am. He had been suffering from old-age complications.
Muazzem Ali, born on July 18, 1944 in Sylhet, joined the Pakistan Foreign Service in 1968, and retired in December 2001.
He declared his allegiance to the Government of Bangladesh while serving in the Pakistan Embassy in Washington DC in 1971.
After independence, Muazzem Ali was directly involved in working towards US recognition of Bangladesh as well as the US, World Bank and UN participation in the massive reconstruction efforts in war-ravaged Bangladesh (1971-1975).
He also served in Bangladesh Embassies in Warsaw (1975-1978), and New Delhi (1986-1988),and in the Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York (1982-1986).
Ali was Consul General in Jeddah (1988-1991) during the Gulf War, and later served as Bangladesh Ambassador to Bhutan (1991-1992), Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Turkmenistan (1995-1998), France and Portugal (1998-2000).
In Paris, Muazzem Ali was also Bangladesh’s Permanent Representative to the UNESCO. In that capacity, he tabled a draft resolution on behalf of Bangladesh for the proclamation of February 21 as the International Mother Language Day.
He spearheaded the lobbying efforts and its unanimous adoption by the UNESCO General Conference in 1999.
Muazzem Ali is survived by two sons, and grandchildren.
