M Sakhawat Hossain
M Sakhawat Hossain (born 1 February 1948) is a Bangladeshi author and speaker. He is a former Election Commissioner of Bangladesh (2007-2012),[1] Brigadier general (retired) in the Bangladesh Army. He wrote more than 32 books, and serves as a columnist and freelance commentator on national and international television as a security and defense analyst.[2]
M Sakhawat Hossain | |
|---|---|
এম সাখাওয়াত হোসেন | |
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| Election Commissioner of Bangladesh | |
| In office 5 February 2007 – 5 February 2012 | |
| President | Iajuddin Ahmed (2007-2009) Zillur Rahman (2009-2012) |
| Chief Election Commissioner | A. T. M. Shamsul Huda |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1 February 1948 Barisal, East Bengal, Pakistan (Now, Barisal, Bangladesh) |
| Spouse | Lieutenant Colonel (retd) Doctor Rehana Khanum |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | United States Army Command and General Staff College, Quaid-i-Azam University, Bangladesh University of Professionals. |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Pakistan (Before 1972) Bangladesh |
| Branch/service | |
| Years of service | 1966-2002 |
| Rank |  Brigadier General |
| Unit | Regiment of Artillery |
| Commands |
|
| Battles/wars | Chittagong Hill Tracts Conflict |
Early life
Hossain was born in Barisal, East Bengal, Dominion of Pakistan on 1 February 1948 in a well known Muslim family of Barisal. He achieved his Secondary School Certificate (SSC) in 1963 from Karachi, Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) in 1965 from Islamia Science College (Karachi), Pakistan. He passed Command and Staff College Mirpur, Dhaka, Bangladesh in 1979 and obtained symbol PSC. He graduated from the United States Army Command and General Staff College (USACGSC) 1981–1982. He earned a master's degree in strategic studies from the Quaid-i-Azam University, Mphil Pt-11 with NDC, Bangladesh. He qualified from National Deference College, Pakistan obtained symbol NDC.
Career
Hossain was commissioned in the Pakistan Army in 1966 from PMA, Kakul. He joined the Bangladesh Army in 1972 upon that country's independence. Following the 2006–2008 Bangladeshi political crisis, he was appointed as a commissioner in the Election Commission headed by A. T. M. Shamsul Huda in 2007 and served till 2012.[3]
Command posts
He led an Artillery unit and a Sector of the Bangladesh Rifles (now Border Guard Bangladesh). He also led two Artillery Brigades and an Infantry Brigade in counterinsurgency operation in Chittagong Hill Tracts.
Staff posts
Hossain served in director roles for Staff Duties, Military Training and Artillery. He served in the Military Operations Directorate as lieutenant colonel.
Other expertise
He served on the Board of Directors of Sonali Bank, the largest commercial bank in Bangladesh for two years. He attended NATO exercise in Germany. He led the first Bangladeshi military delegation to Germany to attend military exercises with the British Army on the Rhine.
Post retirement
He became an individual researcher in national security and defense, a columnist and security analyst.[4]
Author
As an author he wrote over 300 articles as columnist on national and international issues in local and international newspapers and journals. He was a freelance commentator on issues of security and geo-politics. He was a regular military analyst during the Iraq war. He was a leading strategic and defense analyst, a Bangladeshi commentator on security issues for British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) for Bengali and English World Service, Tehran Radio and Voice of America (VOA). He wrote more than 20 books in Bangla and English on national and international politics, defense strategy, election etc. His first book dealt with politico-military events of Bangladesh between 1975 and 1981.[5]
Social
Hossain was a member and Committee member of Kurmitola Golf Club, Rotary Club, Dhaka West & RAOWA (Retired Army officers Welfare association) club and IANSA (International Association of Non- proliferation of Small Arms) – Bangladesh chapter.
References
- "Retired Brigadier General M. Sakhawat Hossain Analyzes Bangladesh Security Situation". VOA (in Bengali). Retrieved 11 May 2018.
- Mahmud, Tarek (19 September 2017). "'Security and border agencies need to gear up intelligence activity'". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
- Staff Correspondent (25 April 2018). "Shujan for army deployment during general election". Prothomalo. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
- "'Bangladesh gets less than expectation from India'". The Independent. Dhaka. UNB. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
- Hossain, Sakhawat (1997). Bāṃlādeśa, raktākta adhyāẏa, 1975-81 (in Bengali). Dhaka: Palaka Pabalisarsa. ISBN 9844450853.
External links
- "RAOWA - Home". Retired Armed Forces Officer's Welfare Association.
- "Research Paper Information". National Defence College Library.
- Hussain, M Sakhawat (2012). Electoral reform in Bangladesh, 1972-2008. Dhaka: Palok Publishers. ISBN 978-9844450677.
- Hussain, Sakhawat. "An overview of North-East India". soc.culture.bangladesh.
- "Tenure of Election Commissioner". Election Commission Bangladesh.
- "Sakhawat for polls-time govt with limited power to its head". Priyo. UNB. 7 April 2014. Archived from the original on 14 June 2015.
