AK Abdul Momen: Difference between revisions

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{{short description|Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh}}
{{Short description|Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox officeholder
{{Infobox officeholder
|name       = A. K. Abdul Momen
| name = A. K. Abdul Momen
|image = Abulkalam Abdul Momen - 2019 (47512344132) (cropped).jpg
| native_name = {{nobold|এ. কে. আব্দুল মোমেন}}
|caption = Momen in April 2019
| native_name_lang = bn
|native_name = এ. কে. আব্দুল মোমেন
| image = Abul Kalam Abdul Momen 2023.jpg
|native_name_lang = bn
| caption = Abdul Momen in 2023
|office = [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Bangladesh)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]]
| parliament = Bangladesh
|president = [[Abdul Hamid (politician)|Abdul Hamid]]
| term_start = 30 January 2019
|primeminister = [[Sheikh Hasina]]
| term_end = 6 August 2024
|term_start = 7 January 2019
| predecessor = [[Abul Maal Abdul Muhith]]
|term_end   =
| successor = [[Khandaker Abdul Muktadir]]
|predecessor = [[Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali]]
| office1 = [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Bangladesh)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]]
|successor =
| primeminister1 = [[Sheikh Hasina]]
|office1 = [[Member of Parliament#Bangladesh|Member of Parliament]]
| term_start1 = 7 January 2019
|constituency1 = [[Sylhet-1]]
| term_end1 = 10 January 2024
|term_start1 = 3 January 2019
| predecessor1 = [[Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali]]
|term_end1   =
| successor1 = [[Hasan Mahmud (politician)|Hasan Mahmud]]
|predecessor1 = [[Abul Maal Abdul Muhith]]
| office2 = [[Permanent Representative to the United Nations|Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations]]
|successor1 =
| term_start2 = 26 August 2009
|office2   = [[Permanent Representative to the United Nations]] in New York of Bangladesh
| term_end2 = 30 October 2015
|term_start2 = 26 August 2009
| predecessor2 = [[Ismat Jahan]]
|term_end2   = 30 October 2015
| successor2 = [[Masud Momen]]
|predecessor2       = [[Ismat Jahan]]
| office3 = [[UNICEF|President of UNICEF]]
|successor2         = [[Masud Momen]]
| term_start3 = 2010
|office3           = President of [[UNICEF]]
| term_end3 = 2010
|term_start3       = 2010
| predecessor3 = [[Oumar Daou]]
|term_end3         = 2010
| successor3 = [[Sanja Štiglic]]
|predecessor3       = [[Oumar Daou]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1947|08|23}}
|successor3         = [[Sanja Štiglic]]
| birth_place = [[Sylhet]], [[East Bengal]], [[Dominion of Pakistan]]
|birth_date         = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1947|08|23}}
| nationality = [[Bangladeshis|Bangladeshi]]
|birth_place       = [[Sylhet]], [[East Bengal]], [[Dominion of Pakistan]]
| alma_mater = {{ubl|[[University of Dhaka]]|[[Northeastern University]]}}
|nationality       = Bangladeshi
| relatives = [[Abul Maal Abdul Muhith|AM Abdul Muhith]] (brother)<br />[[Shahla Khatun]] (sister)<br />[[Minister Abdul Hamid|Abdul Hamid]] (granduncle)
|alma_mater         = {{unbulleted list|[[University of Dhaka]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]], [[Master of Arts|MA]])|[[Northeastern University]] ([[PhD]])}}
| mother = [[Syeda Shahar Banu]]
|relatives          = [[Abul Maal Abdul Muhith|AM Abdul Muhith]] (brother)
| father = [[Abu Ahmad Abdul Hafiz]]
| party = [[Awami League]]
| constituency = [[Sylhet-1]]
| office = [[Jatiya Sangsad|Member of Parliament]]
}}
}}
'''Abul Kalam Abdul Momen''' ({{lang-bn|আব্দুল কালাম আব্দুল মোমেন}}; born 23 August 1947) is a Bangladeshi economist, diplomat, politician and the [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Bangladesh)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]] of Bangladesh. He was Bangladesh's [[Permanent Representative to the United Nations]] in New York from August 2009 to October 2015.<ref>{{cite news |title=Masud Momen new Bangladesh's UN envoy |url=http://www.thedailystar.net/country/masud-momen-new-bangladesh%E2%80%99s-un-envoy-166696 |newspaper=The Daily Star |date=3 November 2015 |access-date=31 August 2016}}</ref> He won the [[2018 Bangladeshi general election]] from [[Sylhet-1]] constituency.<ref name="Prothomalo">{{Cite web|url=https://election.prothomalo.com/candidates/3974|script-title=bn:এ কে আবদুল মোমেন|work=Prothom Alo|language=bn|access-date=2019-01-08}}</ref> In 2019, he was appointed as the minister of foreign affairs of the [[Government of Bangladesh]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/politics/new-cabinet-members-of-bangladesh-government-formed-monday-1683733|title=47-member new cabinet announced|date=2019-01-06|work=The Daily Star|language=en|access-date=2019-01-08}}</ref>
'''Abul Kalam Abdul Momen''' (born 23 August 1947), known as '''AK Abdul Momen''', is a Bangladeshi economist, diplomat, and politician who served as [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Bangladesh)|minister of foreign affairs]] from January 2019 to January 2024. He served as [[Permanent Mission of Bangladesh to the United Nations|permanent representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations]] from August 2009 until October 2015.<ref>{{cite news |title=Masud Momen new Bangladesh's UN envoy |url=http://www.thedailystar.net/country/masud-momen-new-bangladesh%E2%80%99s-un-envoy-166696 |newspaper=The Daily Star |date=3 November 2015 |access-date=31 August 2016}}</ref> He was elected a member of [[Jatiya Sangsad]] from the [[Sylhet-1]] constituency at the [[2018 Bangladeshi general election|2018 general elections]].<ref name="Prothomalo">{{Cite news |url=https://election.prothomalo.com/candidates/3974 |script-title=bn:এ কে আবদুল মোমেন |work=Prothom Alo |language=bn |access-date=2019-01-08}}</ref> Following his election, he was appointed the [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Bangladesh)|minister of foreign affairs]] by the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/politics/new-cabinet-members-of-bangladesh-government-formed-monday-1683733 |title=47-member new cabinet announced |date=2019-01-06 |work=The Daily Star |language=en |access-date=2019-01-08}}</ref>


==Early life and education==
==Background and education==
Abul Kalam Abdul Momen was born on 23 August 1947, to a [[Bengali Muslim]] political family in [[Sylhet]]. His father, Abu Ahmad Abdul Hafiz, was a judge who was one of the founders of the Sylhet branch of the [[All-India Muslim League]] and took part in the [[Pakistan Movement]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sylhetsadar.sylhet.gov.bd/site/page/5a02709b-0757-11e7-a6c5-286ed488c766/%E0%A6%AA%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%96%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AF%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%A4%20%E0%A6%AC%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AF%E0%A6%95%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%A4%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%A4%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AC |title=সংরক্ষণাগারভুক্ত অনুলিপি|language=bn|access-date=31 December 2018|work=[[Sylhet Sadar Upazila]]|archive-date=16 June 2018|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180616030203/http://sylhetsadar.sylhet.gov.bd/site/page/5a02709b-0757-11e7-a6c5-286ed488c766/%E0%A6%AA%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%96%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AF%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%A4%20%E0%A6%AC%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AF%E0%A6%95%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%A4%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%A4%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AC}}</ref> His mother, [[Syeda Shahar Banu]], was one of the leading women of the [[Bengali language movement]]. He was one of fourteen children, and his elder brother is [[Abul Maal Abdul Muhith|AM Abdul Muhith]], the former [[Minister of Finance (Bangladesh)|Minister of Finance]] for Bangladesh.<ref name=prothomalo>{{cite news|url=http://www.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/article/1066685/%E2%80%98%E0%A6%9C%E0%A7%80%E0%A6%AC%E0%A6%A8%E0%A6%9F%E0%A6%BE-%E0%A6%A8%E0%A6%BF%E0%A7%9F%E0%A7%87-%E0%A6%86%E0%A6%AE%E0%A6%BF-%E0%A6%B8%E0%A6%A8%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%A4%E0%A7%81%E0%A6%B7%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%9F%E2%80%99|title=জীবনটা নিয়ে আমি সন্তুষ্ট|work=[[Prothom Alo]]|language=bn|date=25 January 2017}}</ref>
Abdul Momen was born on 23 August 1947, to a [[Bengali Muslim]] political family in [[Sylhet]]. His father was [[Abu Ahmad Abdul Hafiz]], a lawyer, who was one of the founders of the Sylhet branch of the [[All-India Muslim League]] and took part in the [[Pakistan Movement]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://sylhetsadar.sylhet.gov.bd/site/page/5a02709b-0757-11e7-a6c5-286ed488c766/%E0%A6%AA%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%96%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AF%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%A4%20%E0%A6%AC%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AF%E0%A6%95%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%A4%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%A4%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AC |script-title=bn:সংরক্ষণাগারভুক্ত অনুলিপি |language=bn |access-date=31 December 2018 |work=Sylhet Sadar Upazila |archive-date=16 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180616030203/http://sylhetsadar.sylhet.gov.bd/site/page/5a02709b-0757-11e7-a6c5-286ed488c766/%E0%A6%AA%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%96%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AF%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%A4%20%E0%A6%AC%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AF%E0%A6%95%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%A4%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%A4%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AC}}</ref> His mother, [[Syeda Shahar Banu]], was one of the leading women of the [[Bengali language movement]]. He was one of fourteen children. His elder brother was [[Abul Maal Abdul Muhith|AM Abdul Muhith]], a former [[Minister of Finance (Bangladesh)|minister of finance]], and his sister is [[Shahla Khatun]], a physician and [[National Professor]] of Bangladesh.<ref name=prothomalo>{{cite news |url=http://www.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/article/1066685/'জীবনটা-নিয়ে-আমি-সন্তুষ্ট' |script-title=bn:জীবনটা নিয়ে আমি সন্তুষ্ট |work=Prothom Alo |language=bn |date=25 January 2017}}</ref>


He passed the matriculation exam from [[Sylhet Government Pilot High School]]. He attended the [[University of Dhaka]] and earned a BA in economics in 1969, and an MA in development economics in 1971.<ref name="diplomat">{{cite magazine |title=His Excellency Abulkalam Abdul Momen |url=http://www.washdiplomat.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2633:his-excellency-abulkalam-abdul-momen&catid=196:profiles&Itemid=229 |magazine=The Diplomat |access-date=31 August 2016}}</ref>
Abdul Momen passed the matriculation exam from [[Sylhet Government Pilot High School]]. He attended the [[University of Dhaka]] and earned a BA in economics in 1969, and an MA in development economics in 1971.<ref name="diplomat">{{cite magazine |title=His Excellency Abulkalam Abdul Momen |url=http://www.washdiplomat.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2633:his-excellency-abulkalam-abdul-momen&catid=196:profiles&Itemid=229 |magazine=The Diplomat |access-date=31 August 2016}}</ref>


==Career==
==Career==
Momen became a civil servant, serving as Private Secretary to the [[Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives|Minister of Rural Development, Local Government and Cooperatives]] from 1973 to 1974; Private Secretary to the [[Minister of Trade and Commerce, and Mineral Resources and Petroleum]] from 1974 to 1975; Section Officer, South Asia, East Asia and Middle East, [[Ministry of Commerce (Bangladesh)|Ministry of Commerce]] from 1975 to 1976; and Director, Office of the President's Advisor on Trade and Commerce from 1976 to 1978. Meanwhile, he completed an LLB in law and jurisprudence from Central College, Dhaka, in 1976.<ref name="diplomat" />
[[File:Außenminister Alexander Schallenberg beim Antalya Diplomacy Forum, 11-13.03.2022. 06.jpg|thumb|left|Abdul Momen with [[Alexander Schallenberg]] at the [[Antalya Diplomacy Forum]] in 2022]]
Abdul Momen became a civil servant, serving as private secretary to the [[Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives|minister of rural development, local government and cooperatives]] from 1973 to 1974; private secretary to the minister of trade and commerce, and mineral resources and petroleum from 1974 to 1975; section officer, South Asia, East Asia and Middle East, [[Ministry of Commerce (Bangladesh)|Ministry of Commerce]] from 1975 to 1976; and director, Office of the President's Advisor on Trade and Commerce from 1976 to 1978. Meanwhile, he completed an LLB in law and jurisprudence from Central College, Dhaka, in 1976.<ref name="diplomat" />


Momen continued his education in the United States, receiving a PhD in economics from [[Northeastern University]], Boston, Massachusetts, in 1988.<ref name="diplomat" /> He taught economics and business administration at [[Merrimack College]], [[Salem State College]], Northeastern University, the [[University of Massachusetts]], and the [[Kennedy School of Government]] at Harvard University.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.un.int/bangladesh/fr/staff/dr-ak-abdul-momen |title=Dr. A.K. Abdul Momen |website=Permanent Mission of the People's Republic of Bangladesh to the United Nations |access-date=2016-09-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160915085249/https://www.un.int/bangladesh/fr/staff/dr-ak-abdul-momen |archive-date=2016-09-15 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Abdul Momen continued his education in the United States, receiving a MPA from [[Harvard Kennedy School]] and a PhD in economics from [[Northeastern University]], Boston, Massachusetts, in 1988.<ref name="diplomat" /> He taught economics and business administration at [[Merrimack College]], [[Salem State College]], Northeastern University, the [[University of Massachusetts]], [[Kennedy School of Government]] at [[Harvard University]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.un.int/bangladesh/fr/staff/dr-ak-abdul-momen |title=Dr. A.K. Abdul Momen |website=Permanent Mission of the People's Republic of Bangladesh to the United Nations |access-date=2016-09-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160915085249/https://www.un.int/bangladesh/fr/staff/dr-ak-abdul-momen |archive-date=2016-09-15 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and the  [[American International University-Bangladesh]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=AIUB OFFICIALS PAID A COURTESY VISIT TO THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS |url=https://www.aiub.edu/aiub-officials-paid-a-courtesy-visit-to-the-minister-of-foreign-affairs|access-date=2025-04-18 |website=www.aiub.edu |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250418190906/https://www.aiub.edu/aiub-officials-paid-a-courtesy-visit-to-the-minister-of-foreign-affairs |archive-date=18 April 2025 |language=en-US}}</ref>


In 1998, Momen became an economic adviser at the [[Saudi Industrial Development Fund]] (SIDF). He left Saudi Arabia in the wake of the 2003 [[Riyadh compound bombings]], and returned to Massachusetts. There he taught in the Department of Economics and Business Administration at [[Framingham State College]] until appointed Bangladesh's Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York in August 2009.<ref name="diplomat" />
In 1998, Abdul Momen became an economic adviser at the [[The Saudi Industrial Development Fund (SIDF)|Saudi Industrial Development Fund]] (SIDF). He left Saudi Arabia in the wake of the 2003 [[Riyadh compound bombings]], and returned to Massachusetts. There he taught in the Department of Economics and Business Administration at [[Framingham State College]] until appointed Bangladesh's permanent representative to the United Nations in New York in August 2009.<ref name="diplomat" />


Momen served as President of the [[UNICEF]] Executive Board at the international level in 2010.<ref>[http://www.unicef.org/about/execboard/files/Executive_Board-Officers-2014-ENGLISH-10Jan2014.pdf Officers of the UNICEF Executive Board 1946–2014], [[UNICEF]]</ref><ref>[http://www.unicef.org/about/history/index_55642.html Executive Board], [[UNICEF]]</ref> He was vice president and Acting President of the [[Sixty-seventh session of the United Nations General Assembly|67th]] [[United Nations General Assembly]].<ref name="undp" />
Abdul Momen served as president of the [[UNICEF]] executive board at the international level in 2010.<ref>[http://www.unicef.org/about/execboard/files/Executive_Board-Officers-2014-ENGLISH-10Jan2014.pdf Officers of the UNICEF Executive Board 1946–2014], [[UNICEF]]</ref><ref>[http://www.unicef.org/about/history/index_55642.html Executive Board] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201007173214/https://www.unicef.org/about/history/index_55642.html |date=2020-10-07 }}, [[UNICEF]]</ref> He was vice president and acting president of the [[Sixty-seventh session of the United Nations General Assembly|67th]] [[United Nations General Assembly]].<ref name="undp" /> He was the president of the United Nations High-Level Committee on South-South Cooperation in 2014.<ref name="undp">{{cite web |url=http://ssc.undp.org/content/ssc/services/policy/governing_bodies/the_hlc_bureau/abulkalam_abdul_momen.html |title=H.E. Abulkalam Abdul Momen |publisher=United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160927201121/http://ssc.undp.org/content/ssc/services/policy/governing_bodies/the_hlc_bureau/abulkalam_abdul_momen.html |archive-date=27 September 2016}}</ref>


Momen was President of the United Nations High-Level Committee on South-South Cooperation in 2014.<ref name="undp">{{cite web|url=http://ssc.undp.org/content/ssc/services/policy/governing_bodies/the_hlc_bureau/abulkalam_abdul_momen.html|title= H.E. Abulkalam Abdul Momen |publisher= United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160927201121/http://ssc.undp.org/content/ssc/services/policy/governing_bodies/the_hlc_bureau/abulkalam_abdul_momen.html |archive-date=27 September 2016}}</ref>
Abdul Momen's elder brother, Bangladesh's Minister of Finance [[Abul Maal Abdul Muhith]], hoped that Abdul Momen would succeed him as a member of the parliament representing the [[Sylhet-1]] constituency in the 2018 general election, which he eventually won.<ref>{{cite news |title=Muhith wants brother Momen to contest for his Sylhet constituency |url=https://bdnews24.com/politics/muhith-wants-brother-momen-to-contest-for-his-sylhet-constituency |newspaper=bdnews24.com |date=5 June 2016}}</ref><ref name="Prothomalo" />


Momen's elder brother, Bangladesh's Minister of Finance [[Abul Maal Abdul Muhith]], hoped that Momen would succeed him as a member of the parliament representing the [[Sylhet-1]] constituency in the 2018 general election, which he eventually won.<ref>{{cite news |title=Muhith wants brother Momen to contest for his Sylhet constituency |url=http://bdnews24.com/politics/2016/06/05/muhith-wants-brother-momen-to-contest-for-his-sylhet-constituency |newspaper=bdnews24.com |date=5 June 2016}}</ref><ref name="Prothomalo" />
Yahoo news<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://uk.news.yahoo.com/bangladesh-under-no-obligation-accept-150754083.html |title=Bangladesh under no obligation to accept Rohingya refugees stranded at sea, minister says |work=Yahoo News}}</ref> reported that Abdul Momen said in February 2020 that Bangladesh had "no obligation" to provide shelter to [[Rohingya people|Rohingya]] refugees who were stranded in the Andaman Sea on a ship. He asked the UNHCR to take the responsibility.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Exclusive: Bangladesh under 'no obligation' to accept stranded Rohingya refugees - minister |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-bangladesh-rohingya-un-idAFKBN2AR08S |access-date=2021-03-10}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2021-02-27 |title=Bangladesh under 'no obligation' to accept stranded Rohingya refugees |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/bangladesh-rohingya-refugees-stranded-india-b1808441.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227151336/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/bangladesh-rohingya-refugees-stranded-india-b1808441.html |archive-date=2021-02-27 |url-access=limited |url-status=live |access-date=2021-03-10 |work=The Independent |language=en}}</ref>
 
Yahoo news<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://uk.news.yahoo.com/bangladesh-under-no-obligation-accept-150754083.html|title=Bangladesh under no obligation to accept Rohingya refugees stranded at sea, minister says}}</ref> reports that Momen said in February 2020 that Bangladesh had “no obligation” to provide shelter to [[Rohingya people|Rohingya]] refugees who were stranded in the Andaman Sea on a ship. He asked the UNHCR to take the responsibility.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Exclusive: Bangladesh under 'no obligation' to accept stranded Rohingya refugees - minister|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-bangladesh-rohingya-un-idAFKBN2AR08S|access-date=2021-03-10}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-02-27|title=Bangladesh under 'no obligation' to accept stranded Rohingya refugees|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/bangladesh-rohingya-refugees-stranded-india-b1808441.html|access-date=2021-03-10|website=The Independent|language=en}}</ref>


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Reflist}}


==Further reading==
==Further reading==
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==External links==
==External links==
{{Commons category|Abul Kalam Abdul Momen}}
* {{commons category-inline}}
{{Chairmen and Presidents of UNICEF}}
{{Chairmen and Presidents of UNICEF}}


{{authority control}}
{{authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Momen, Abulkalam Abdul}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abdul Momen, Abulkalam}}
[[Category:1947 births]]
[[Category:1947 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:University of Dhaka alumni]]
[[Category:University of Dhaka alumni]]
[[Category:Framingham State University faculty]]
[[Category:Northeastern University alumni]]
[[Category:Northeastern University alumni]]
[[Category:Bangladeshi diplomats]]
[[Category:Harvard Kennedy School alumni]]
[[Category:Permanent Representatives of Bangladesh to the United Nations]]
[[Category:Chairmen and Presidents of UNICEF]]
[[Category:Harvard Kennedy School faculty]]
[[Category:Harvard Kennedy School faculty]]
[[Category:Harvard Business School alumni]]
[[Category:Framingham State University faculty]]
[[Category:Permanent representatives of Bangladesh to the United Nations]]
[[Category:Chairmen and presidents of UNICEF]]
[[Category:Bangladeshi officials of the United Nations]]
[[Category:Bangladeshi officials of the United Nations]]
[[Category:11th Jatiya Sangsad members]]
[[Category:11th Jatiya Sangsad members]]
[[Category:Foreign ministers of Bangladesh]]
[[Category:Ministers of foreign affairs of Bangladesh]]
[[Category:Bangladeshi people of Arab descent]]
[[Category:12th Jatiya Sangsad members]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the American International University-Bangladesh]]
[[Category:Politicians from Sylhet]]
[[Category:Sylhet Government Pilot High School alumni]]

Latest revision as of 05:19, 24 February 2026


A. K. Abdul Momen
এ. কে. আব্দুল মোমেন
Abdul Momen in 2023
Member of Parliament
In office
30 January 2019 – 6 August 2024
Preceded byAbul Maal Abdul Muhith
Succeeded byKhandaker Abdul Muktadir
ConstituencySylhet-1
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
7 January 2019 – 10 January 2024
Prime MinisterSheikh Hasina
Preceded byAbul Hassan Mahmood Ali
Succeeded byHasan Mahmud
Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations
In office
26 August 2009 – 30 October 2015
Preceded byIsmat Jahan
Succeeded byMasud Momen
President of UNICEF
In office
2010–2010
Preceded byOumar Daou
Succeeded bySanja Štiglic
Personal details
Born (1947-08-23) 23 August 1947 (age 78)
Sylhet, East Bengal, Dominion of Pakistan
NationalityBangladeshi
Political partyAwami League
Parents
RelativesAM Abdul Muhith (brother)
Shahla Khatun (sister)
Abdul Hamid (granduncle)
Alma mater

Abul Kalam Abdul Momen (born 23 August 1947), known as AK Abdul Momen, is a Bangladeshi economist, diplomat, and politician who served as minister of foreign affairs from January 2019 to January 2024. He served as permanent representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations from August 2009 until October 2015.[1] He was elected a member of Jatiya Sangsad from the Sylhet-1 constituency at the 2018 general elections.[2] Following his election, he was appointed the minister of foreign affairs by the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.[3]

Background and education[edit | edit source]

Abdul Momen was born on 23 August 1947, to a Bengali Muslim political family in Sylhet. His father was Abu Ahmad Abdul Hafiz, a lawyer, who was one of the founders of the Sylhet branch of the All-India Muslim League and took part in the Pakistan Movement.[4] His mother, Syeda Shahar Banu, was one of the leading women of the Bengali language movement. He was one of fourteen children. His elder brother was AM Abdul Muhith, a former minister of finance, and his sister is Shahla Khatun, a physician and National Professor of Bangladesh.[5]

Abdul Momen passed the matriculation exam from Sylhet Government Pilot High School. He attended the University of Dhaka and earned a BA in economics in 1969, and an MA in development economics in 1971.[6]

Career[edit | edit source]

Abdul Momen with Alexander Schallenberg at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in 2022

Abdul Momen became a civil servant, serving as private secretary to the minister of rural development, local government and cooperatives from 1973 to 1974; private secretary to the minister of trade and commerce, and mineral resources and petroleum from 1974 to 1975; section officer, South Asia, East Asia and Middle East, Ministry of Commerce from 1975 to 1976; and director, Office of the President's Advisor on Trade and Commerce from 1976 to 1978. Meanwhile, he completed an LLB in law and jurisprudence from Central College, Dhaka, in 1976.[6]

Abdul Momen continued his education in the United States, receiving a MPA from Harvard Kennedy School and a PhD in economics from Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, in 1988.[6] He taught economics and business administration at Merrimack College, Salem State College, Northeastern University, the University of Massachusetts, Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University[7] and the American International University-Bangladesh.[8]

In 1998, Abdul Momen became an economic adviser at the Saudi Industrial Development Fund (SIDF). He left Saudi Arabia in the wake of the 2003 Riyadh compound bombings, and returned to Massachusetts. There he taught in the Department of Economics and Business Administration at Framingham State College until appointed Bangladesh's permanent representative to the United Nations in New York in August 2009.[6]

Abdul Momen served as president of the UNICEF executive board at the international level in 2010.[9][10] He was vice president and acting president of the 67th United Nations General Assembly.[11] He was the president of the United Nations High-Level Committee on South-South Cooperation in 2014.[11]

Abdul Momen's elder brother, Bangladesh's Minister of Finance Abul Maal Abdul Muhith, hoped that Abdul Momen would succeed him as a member of the parliament representing the Sylhet-1 constituency in the 2018 general election, which he eventually won.[12][2]

Yahoo news[13] reported that Abdul Momen said in February 2020 that Bangladesh had "no obligation" to provide shelter to Rohingya refugees who were stranded in the Andaman Sea on a ship. He asked the UNHCR to take the responsibility.[14][15]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ "Masud Momen new Bangladesh's UN envoy". The Daily Star. 3 November 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 এ কে আবদুল মোমেন. Prothom Alo (in Bengali). Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  3. ↑ "47-member new cabinet announced". The Daily Star. 6 January 2019. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  4. ↑ সংরক্ষণাগারভুক্ত অনুলিপি. Sylhet Sadar Upazila (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 16 June 2018. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
  5. ↑ জীবনটা নিয়ে আমি সন্তুষ্ট. Prothom Alo (in Bengali). 25 January 2017.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 "His Excellency Abulkalam Abdul Momen". The Diplomat. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  7. ↑ "Dr. A.K. Abdul Momen". Permanent Mission of the People's Republic of Bangladesh to the United Nations. Archived from the original on 15 September 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  8. ↑ "AIUB OFFICIALS PAID A COURTESY VISIT TO THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS". www.aiub.edu. Archived from the original on 18 April 2025. Retrieved 18 April 2025.
  9. ↑ Officers of the UNICEF Executive Board 1946–2014, UNICEF
  10. ↑ Executive Board Archived 2020-10-07 at the Wayback Machine, UNICEF
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "H.E. Abulkalam Abdul Momen". United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation. Archived from the original on 27 September 2016.
  12. ↑ "Muhith wants brother Momen to contest for his Sylhet constituency". bdnews24.com. 5 June 2016.
  13. ↑ "Bangladesh under no obligation to accept Rohingya refugees stranded at sea, minister says". Yahoo News.
  14. ↑ "Exclusive: Bangladesh under 'no obligation' to accept stranded Rohingya refugees - minister". Reuters. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
  15. ↑ "Bangladesh under 'no obligation' to accept stranded Rohingya refugees". The Independent. 27 February 2021. Archived from the original on 27 February 2021. Retrieved 10 March 2021.

Further reading[edit | edit source]

External links[edit | edit source]

Template:Chairmen and Presidents of UNICEF

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