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{{EngvarB|date=March 2017}}
{{Short description|Bangladeshi diplomat}}
{{BLP sources|date=March 2023}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}}
{{Infobox officeholder
{{Infobox officeholder
|honorific-prefix    =
|name = Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury
|name = Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury
|image =Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury in New Delhi on 31 March 2007.jpg
|image =Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury Brussels 2008 portrait.jpg
|caption = Chowdhury in 2007
|caption = Chowdhury at the European Union in [[Brussels]] (2008)
|imagesize = 150px
 
|order =  [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Bangladesh)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]]
|office =  [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Bangladesh)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]]
|term_start = 2007
|term_start = 2007
|term_end = 2008
|term_end = 2008
|predecessor = [[Iajuddin Ahmed]]
|predecessor = [[Iajuddin Ahmed]]
|successor = [[Dipu Moni]]
|successor = [[Dipu Moni]]
|office1 =  
 
|term_start1 =  
|office1=[[Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations]]
|term_end1 =  
|term_start1=2001
|predecessor1 =  
|term_end1=2007
|successor1 =  
|predecessor1=[[Anwarul Karim Chowdhury]]
|birth_name =  
|successor1=[[Ismat Jahan]]
 
|office2=Ambassador of Bangladesh to Qatar
|term_start2=2 July 1994
|term_end2=14 December 1996
|predecessor2=Kazi Nazrul Islam
|successor2=Abdul Aziz<ref>{{Cite web |title=Former ambassadors|url=https://doha.mofa.gov.bd/en/site/page/former-ambassadors|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250908035019/https://doha.mofa.gov.bd/en/site/page/former-ambassadors |archive-date=2025-09-08 |access-date=2025-11-14 |website=doha.mofa.gov.bd |language=en}}</ref>
 
|birth_date    = 25 October 1946
|birth_date    = 25 October 1946
|birth_place  = [[Dhaka District|Dacca District]],{{citation needed|date=March 2015}} [[British India]]
|birth_place  = [[Dhaka District|Dacca District]],{{citation needed|date=March 2015}} [[British India]]
|death_date    =  
|alma_mater={{ubl|[[Australian National University]]|[[University of Dhaka]]}}
|death_place  =
|spouse        =
}}
}}
'''Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury''' is a former Bangladeshi Minister of Foreign Affairs (2007-2009), a position he held after a long career in diplomacy and the Civil Service, starting in Pakistan in 1969, thereafter transferring to Bangladesh after the nation gained independence in 1971.


He served as Bangladesh’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York (2001-2007), and in Geneva (1996-2000). He was also Ambassador to Qatar (1994-1996), and accredited to Chile, Peru, and the Holy See (Vatican).
'''Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury''' is a former Bangladesh Advisor (Minister) [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Bangladesh)|of Foreign Affairs]] (2007–2009), a position he held after a long career in diplomacy and the Civil Service, starting in Pakistan in 1969, thereafter transferring to Bangladesh after the nation gained independence in 1971.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2008-07-02 |title=Kosovo issue being mooted |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-43843 |access-date=2023-03-13 |work=The Daily Star |agency=UNB |language=en}}</ref>


An international civil servant for a brief period, he was Special Advisor to the Secretary General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in 2000.
Chowdhury's contributions as a global diplomat were recognized by the New York City Council; he was named as "One of the World's Leading Diplomatic Leaders". He was also awarded a Knighthood of the Order of St. Gregory the Great by Pope John Paul the Second.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2008-07-02 |title=One of the world's leading diplomatic leaders and Knighthood Award |url=https://www.isas.nus.edu.sg/honorary_senior/iftekhar-ahmed-chowdhury/ |access-date=2024-10-22 |work=NUS Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS) |agency=NUS |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=APLN Network Members: Iftekhar Ahmed CHOWDHURY |url=https://www.apln.network/members/bangladesh/iftekhar-ahmed-chowdhury/bio |access-date=2024-10-22 |work=The Asia-Pacific Leadership Network for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament (APLN) |agency=APLN |language=en}}</ref>
 
After four decades of working with the government, he joined the academia as a scholar in 2009. He was Principal Research Fellow (Research- lead in multilateral relations and international linkages) at the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS) of the National University of Singapore (NUS). He also taught courses at the Nanyang Technological University and at the Lee Kuan Institute of Public policy in Singapore.
He joined the corporate world in 2020, assuming the post of Group Senior Advisor to Meinhardt International, a multinational entity headquarters in Singapore.


==Education==
==Education==
Chowdhury obtained a MA and PhD, both in International Relations, at the Australian National University in Canberra, having stood First in First Class in Political Science Honours at the Dacca University. Earlier he had studied at the prestigious St Gregory’s High School and Notre Dame college in Dhaka, obtaining High First Division in Matriculation and Intermediate of Arts public examinations.
Chowdhury obtained an MA and Ph.D., both in International Relations at the [[Australian National University]] in Canberra,<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury |url=https://www.isas.nus.edu.sg/honorary_fellow/iftekhar-ahmed-chowdhury/ |access-date=2023-03-13 |website=www.isas.nus.edu.sg}}</ref> having stood First in First Class in Political Science Honours at the [[University of Dhaka]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=IFTEKHAR AHMED CHOWDHURY (BANGLADESH) CHAIRMAN OF SECOND COMMITTEE {{!}} UN Press |url=https://press.un.org/en/2003/bio3529.doc.htm |access-date=2023-03-13 |website=press.un.org}}</ref>
 
His post-graduate mentors included Professors Hedley Bull, Bruce Miller, Desmond Ball, and Geoffrey Jukes. His interests focused on strategic analysis, arms control and non-proliferation, and war studies, which were to remain with him throughout his later career.
 
==Diplomatic Career==
In Bangladesh’s  pre-independence period, he had stood first in then-East Pakistan in the Superior Civil service examination, and joined the Civil Service of Pakistan (CSP) in 1969. He received his training in the Civil Service Academy in Lahore and began his administrative career as an Assistant Commissioner (probationer) in Abbottabad, in the North- West Frontiers of Pakistan (today’s Khaybar Pakhtunkhwa).
 
Following Bangladesh’s independence, he was Private Secretary to a cabinet minister General MAG Osmany, who had been the Commander-in-Chief of the Bangladesh Liberation Army during the war of 1971. Thereafter, following a stint in the Planning Commission, he went on study- leave in Australia where he remained till1980, joining the Ministry of Foreign affairs on return.
 
Chowdhury’s diplomatic career took him to Bonn, Doha, Geneva, and New York. During his longtime postings as Ambassador to the World Trade Organization(WTO) and to  the United Nations (UN), he had been Chairman of the WTO Council on Trade Policy Review, WTO Committee on Trade and Development, President of the Conference on Disarmament ,Chairman of the UN Information Committee, Chairman of the UN Second (Economic Committee), Chairman of the Committee for Social Development and Chairman of the UN Information Committee, Chairman of the Population and Development Commission, and Chairman of the Committee on Social Development.
 
He had been associated with the UN Reforms process as a ‘’facilitator” appointed by the President of the UN General Assembly. He was also responsible for conducting negotiations on the paragraphs on principles of the Responsibility to Protect in the ‘’Outcome Document” on UN Reforms approved by global leaders in 2005.


==International Civil Service==
==Career==
Upon secondment to the United Nations in 2000, Chowdhury was appointed Special Advisor to the Secretary General of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) at its headquarters in Geneva. In that capacity he assisted Secretary General Rubens Ricupero in organizing the Third UN Conference on Least Developed Countries that took place in Brussels that year.
In Bangladesh's pre-independence period, he had stood first in then-East Pakistan in the Superior Civil service examination, and joined the Civil Service of Pakistan (CSP) in 1969.<ref name="cosmos">{{Cite web |title=Dr. Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury |url=https://cosmosfoundation.org/dt_team/dr-iftekhar-ahmed-chowdhury/ |access-date=2023-03-13 |website=Cosmos Foundation |date=2 December 2019 |language=en-US}}</ref> He received his training in the Civil Service Academy in Lahore and began his administrative career as an assistant commissioner (probationer) in Abbottabad, in the North-West Frontiers of Pakistan (today's Khaybar Pakhtunkhwa).


==Global Honours==
Chowdhury's diplomatic career took him to Bonn, Doha, Geneva, and New York. During his longtime postings as Ambassador to the [[World Trade Organization]] (WTO) and to the United Nations (UN), he had been chairman of the WTO Council on Trade Policy Review,<ref name=":0" /> WTO Committee on Trade and Development, president of the Conference on Disarmament, chairman of the Committee for Social Development and chairman of the UN Information Committee, chairman of the Population and Development Commission, and chairman of the Committee on Social Development.
Chowdhury’s contributions as a global diplomat were recognized by the New York City Council, when in a Proclamation in 2003, he was named as “one of the world’s leading diplomatic leaders”. He was also awarded a knighthood of the Order of St Gregory the Great by Pope Jon Paul the Second.


==Caretaker Government==
Upon secondment to the United Nations in 2000, Chowdhury was appointed Special Advisor to the Secretary General of the [[UN Trade and Development|UN Conference on Trade and Development]] (UNCTAD) at its headquarters in Geneva.<ref name=":1" /> In that capacity he assisted Secretary General Rubens Ricupero in organizing the Third UN Conference on Least Developed Countries that took place in Brussels that year. He was appointed the chairman of the UN Second (Economic Committee) in 2003.<ref name=":1" /> He had been associated with the UN Reforms process as a "facilitator" appointed by the president of the UN General Assembly. He was also responsible for conducting negotiations on the paragraphs on principles of the responsibility to protect in the "Outcome Document" on UN Reforms approved by global leaders in 2005.
When, following a political crisis in Bangladesh, a Caretaker Government was formed in January 2007, Iftekhar Chowdhury was sworn in as the Foreign Minister (Formal title: Foreign Advisor). He was also put in charge of two additional Ministries, Overseas Employment and Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs. On his watch, Bangladesh succeeded in creating global market for 1.8 million additional employments for Bangladeshi workers abroad.


In November 2008, there was a flare -up with Myanmar in the Bay of Bengal. A cabinet committee, helmed by Chowdhury, took a strong decision to send a naval patrol of four warships, forcing Myanmar to withdraw two of its vessels from disputed waters, ending a four-day stand off that almost brought the two neighbours into a serious armed conflict. He flew to Myanmar shortly thereafter to discuss the row. (Citation: “Myanmar Withdraws Warships””, AFP, 6 Nov, 2008).
When, following a political crisis in Bangladesh, a caretaker government was formed in January 2007, Iftekhar Chowdhury was sworn in as the foreign minister in the Fakhruddin Ahmed cabinet.<ref name=":0" /> He was also put in charge of two additional ministries, Overseas Employment and Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Dispute Settlement |url=https://archive.thedailystar.net/2006/2007/06/01/d7060101096.htm |access-date=2023-03-13 |work=The Daily Star}}</ref>


He was also instrumental in organizing Bangladesh’s participation at the Davos Conference of the World Economic Forum in Switzerland in 2008.
In November 2008, there was a flare-up with Myanmar in the Bay of Bengal. A cabinet committee, helmed by Chowdhury, took a strong decision to send a naval patrol of four warships, forcing Myanmar to withdraw two of its vessels from disputed waters, ending a four-day stand off that almost brought the two neighbours into a serious armed conflict.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2008-11-12 |title=Bangladesh, Myanmar hold talks to defuse sea row |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSDHA391398 |access-date=2023-03-13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Myanmar withdrawal a 'win-win' outcome: Iftekhar |url=https://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/myanmar-withdrawal-a-win-win-outcome-iftekhar |access-date=2023-03-13 |work=bdnews24.com |language=en}}</ref>
Iftekhar Chowdhury was also part of a group of five members of a “kitchen-cabinet” that was able to successfully negotiate with all the political parties the end of the period of emergency and the holding of elections paving the path to a new government in 2009.


==Academic Career==
=== Career after government ===
Following the change of government in 2009, Chowdhury took to a career in the academia. He joined the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS) at the National University of Singapore (NUS) as the Principal Research Fellow, where he remained till 2020, then becoming an Honorary Fellow. He also taught at the Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), and at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore.
Following the change of government in 2009, Chowdhury took to a career in the academia. He joined the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS) at the [[National University of Singapore]] (NUS)<ref>{{Cite news |last=Chowdhury |first=Iftekhar Ahmed |date=2019-06-08 |title=Duel at the Shangri-La dialogue: Implications for us all |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/opinion/perspective/news/duel-the-shangri-la-dialogue-implications-us-all-1753744 |access-date=2023-03-13 |work=The Daily Star |type=Opinion |language=en}}</ref> as the principal research fellow, where he remained till 2020, then becoming an Honorary Fellow. He also taught at the Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) at the [[Nanyang Technological University]] (NTU), and at the [[Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy]] in Singapore.


He has been participating in numerous seminars and workshops in universities and think tanks around the world, and has been contributing articles to journals and newspapers on international relations and global issues. He has authored books on the United Nations and the World Trade Organization, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and a compendium of essays entitled South Asia in the Contemporary World: A Scholar-Diplomat’s Perspective. He has also co-authored a book, Afghanistan: The Next Phase, and Pakistan at Seventy.
Chowdhury is on the advisory board of the New York-based [[Global Center on Cooperative Security]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-07-26 |title=Our Leadership - Global Center on Cooperative Security |url=https://www.globalcenter.org/our-leadership/ |access-date=2023-03-13 |website=Global Center on Cooperative Security - Building stronger partnerships for a more secure world |language=en}}</ref> He has been attending the sessions of the [[Astana Club]], a group of eminent global leaders annually hosted by President [[Nursultan Nazarbayev]] of [[Kazakhstan]], and of the Beijing-based World Peace Forum.


Chowdhury is on the Advisory Board of the New York-based Global Center on Cooperative Security. He has been attending the sessions of the Astana Club, a group of eminent global leaders annually hosted by the First President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan, and of the Beijing-based World Peace Forum.
In October 2020, he joined the private sector, when he assumed the post of senior group advisor of Meinhardt International, a multidisciplinary engineering and designing multinational firm headquartered in Singapore.<ref name="cosmos" /> He remained in that position for two years.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mohan |first1=C. Raja |last2=Singh |first2=Hernaikh |title=Coping With China-india Rivalry: South Asian Dilemmas |date=4 January 2023 |publisher=World Scientific |isbn=978-981-12-6373-6 |page=122 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Coping_With_China_india_Rivalry_South_As/f7mtEAAAQBAJ?gbpv=1&pg=PA122}}</ref> He is a member of the Association of Former BCS (FA) Ambassadors.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Members' List – AOFA |url=https://aofabd.com/members-list/ |access-date=2023-03-13 |language=en-US}}</ref>
 
==Corporate Sector==
In October 2020, he joined the private sector, when he assumed the post of Senior Group Advisor of Meinhardt International, a multidisciplinary engineering and designing multinational firm headquartered in Singapore.


==Personal life==
==Personal life==
He comes of a very distinguished Bangladeshi family, belonging to the Sylhet region in the north-east of the country with major contributions to public life in Bangladesh. His father, and all his siblings, have been involved with upper reaches of government service, diplomacy, and politics, having served as Permanent Secretaries, Ambassadors and Ministerial appointees. His eldest brother Faruq Ahmed Choudhury was a foreign secretary, 2nd brother Enam Ahmed Choudhury was secretary, and another one is former ambassador Masum Ahmed Choudhury. A brother-in-law (freedom fighter Col Syed Abdul Hai) was one of the highest -level Bangladeshi Army officers to have been killed during the country’s liberation struggle.
Chowdhurys eldest brother [[Faruq Ahmed Choudhury]] was a foreign secretary, second brother [[Enam Ahmed Choudhury]] was secretary, and another brother is former ambassador [[Masum Ahmed Choudhury]].<ref name=":2" /> A brother-in-law (freedom fighter Lieutenant colonel [[Syed Abdul Hai]]) was one of the highest -level Bangladeshi Army officers to have been killed during the [[Bangladesh Liberation War]].<ref name=":2" />
His youngest sister, Nina Ahmed, married [[Fakhruddin Ahmed]], former chief adviser to the 2007-08 caretaker government.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Correspondent|first=Diplomatic|date=2017-05-18|title=Faruq Ahmed Choudhury passes away|url=https://www.thedailystar.net/frontpage/faruk-ahmed-passes-away-1406893|access-date=2021-12-02|website=The Daily Star|language=en}}</ref> He and his late wife, Nicole Sherin Chowdhury, have one daughter, Naureen Chowdhury Fink, an alumna of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia,  and King’s College, London, who is the Executive Director of Soufan Center, a New York thinktank specializing on counter-terrorism.
His youngest sister, Nina Ahmed, married [[Fakhruddin Ahmed]], former chief adviser to the 2007-08 caretaker government.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |date=2017-05-18 |title=Faruq Ahmed Choudhury passes away |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/frontpage/faruk-ahmed-passes-away-1406893 |access-date=2021-12-02 |work=The Daily Star |language=en}}</ref>


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


 
{{Authority control}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Iajuddin Ahmed]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Bangladesh)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]]|years=2007–2009}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Dipu Moni]]}}
{{s-end}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Chowdhury, Iftekhar Ahmed}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chowdhury, Iftekhar Ahmed}}
[[Category:1946 births]]
[[Category:1946 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Sylhet District]]
[[Category:St. Gregory's High School and College alumni]]
[[Category:Notre Dame College, Dhaka alumni]]
[[Category:University of Dhaka alumni]]
[[Category:University of Dhaka alumni]]
[[Category:Australian National University alumni]]
[[Category:Australian National University alumni]]
[[Category:Permanent Representatives of Bangladesh to the United Nations]]
[[Category:Permanent representatives of Bangladesh to the United Nations]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of Bangladesh to Qatar]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of Bangladesh to Qatar]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of Bangladesh to the Holy See]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of Bangladesh to the Holy See]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of Bangladesh to Chile]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of Bangladesh to Chile]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of Bangladesh to Peru]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of Bangladesh to Peru]]
[[Category:Foreign ministers of Bangladesh]]
[[Category:Ministers of foreign affairs of Bangladesh]]
[[Category:Advisors of Caretaker Government of Bangladesh]]
[[Category:Advisers of caretaker governments of Bangladesh]]
[[Category:Notre Dame College, Dhaka alumni]]

Latest revision as of 12:37, 26 March 2026


Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury
Chowdhury at the European Union in Brussels (2008)
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
2007–2008
Preceded byIajuddin Ahmed
Succeeded byDipu Moni
Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations
In office
2001–2007
Preceded byAnwarul Karim Chowdhury
Succeeded byIsmat Jahan
Ambassador of Bangladesh to Qatar
In office
2 July 1994 – 14 December 1996
Preceded byKazi Nazrul Islam
Succeeded byAbdul Aziz[1]
Personal details
Born25 October 1946
Dacca District,[citation needed] British India
Alma mater

Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury is a former Bangladesh Advisor (Minister) of Foreign Affairs (2007–2009), a position he held after a long career in diplomacy and the Civil Service, starting in Pakistan in 1969, thereafter transferring to Bangladesh after the nation gained independence in 1971.[2]

Chowdhury's contributions as a global diplomat were recognized by the New York City Council; he was named as "One of the World's Leading Diplomatic Leaders". He was also awarded a Knighthood of the Order of St. Gregory the Great by Pope John Paul the Second.[3][4]

Education[edit | edit source]

Chowdhury obtained an MA and Ph.D., both in International Relations at the Australian National University in Canberra,[5] having stood First in First Class in Political Science Honours at the University of Dhaka.[6]

Career[edit | edit source]

In Bangladesh's pre-independence period, he had stood first in then-East Pakistan in the Superior Civil service examination, and joined the Civil Service of Pakistan (CSP) in 1969.[7] He received his training in the Civil Service Academy in Lahore and began his administrative career as an assistant commissioner (probationer) in Abbottabad, in the North-West Frontiers of Pakistan (today's Khaybar Pakhtunkhwa).

Chowdhury's diplomatic career took him to Bonn, Doha, Geneva, and New York. During his longtime postings as Ambassador to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and to the United Nations (UN), he had been chairman of the WTO Council on Trade Policy Review,[5] WTO Committee on Trade and Development, president of the Conference on Disarmament, chairman of the Committee for Social Development and chairman of the UN Information Committee, chairman of the Population and Development Commission, and chairman of the Committee on Social Development.

Upon secondment to the United Nations in 2000, Chowdhury was appointed Special Advisor to the Secretary General of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) at its headquarters in Geneva.[6] In that capacity he assisted Secretary General Rubens Ricupero in organizing the Third UN Conference on Least Developed Countries that took place in Brussels that year. He was appointed the chairman of the UN Second (Economic Committee) in 2003.[6] He had been associated with the UN Reforms process as a "facilitator" appointed by the president of the UN General Assembly. He was also responsible for conducting negotiations on the paragraphs on principles of the responsibility to protect in the "Outcome Document" on UN Reforms approved by global leaders in 2005.

When, following a political crisis in Bangladesh, a caretaker government was formed in January 2007, Iftekhar Chowdhury was sworn in as the foreign minister in the Fakhruddin Ahmed cabinet.[5] He was also put in charge of two additional ministries, Overseas Employment and Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs.[8]

In November 2008, there was a flare-up with Myanmar in the Bay of Bengal. A cabinet committee, helmed by Chowdhury, took a strong decision to send a naval patrol of four warships, forcing Myanmar to withdraw two of its vessels from disputed waters, ending a four-day stand off that almost brought the two neighbours into a serious armed conflict.[9][10]

Career after government[edit | edit source]

Following the change of government in 2009, Chowdhury took to a career in the academia. He joined the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS) at the National University of Singapore (NUS)[11] as the principal research fellow, where he remained till 2020, then becoming an Honorary Fellow. He also taught at the Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), and at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore.

Chowdhury is on the advisory board of the New York-based Global Center on Cooperative Security.[12] He has been attending the sessions of the Astana Club, a group of eminent global leaders annually hosted by President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan, and of the Beijing-based World Peace Forum.

In October 2020, he joined the private sector, when he assumed the post of senior group advisor of Meinhardt International, a multidisciplinary engineering and designing multinational firm headquartered in Singapore.[7] He remained in that position for two years.[13] He is a member of the Association of Former BCS (FA) Ambassadors.[14]

Personal life[edit | edit source]

Chowdhurys eldest brother Faruq Ahmed Choudhury was a foreign secretary, second brother Enam Ahmed Choudhury was secretary, and another brother is former ambassador Masum Ahmed Choudhury.[15] A brother-in-law (freedom fighter Lieutenant colonel Syed Abdul Hai) was one of the highest -level Bangladeshi Army officers to have been killed during the Bangladesh Liberation War.[15] His youngest sister, Nina Ahmed, married Fakhruddin Ahmed, former chief adviser to the 2007-08 caretaker government.[15]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ "Former ambassadors". doha.mofa.gov.bd. Archived from the original on 8 September 2025. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
  2. ↑ "Kosovo issue being mooted". The Daily Star. UNB. 2 July 2008. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  3. ↑ "One of the world's leading diplomatic leaders and Knighthood Award". NUS Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS). NUS. 2 July 2008. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  4. ↑ "APLN Network Members: Iftekhar Ahmed CHOWDHURY". The Asia-Pacific Leadership Network for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament (APLN). APLN. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury". www.isas.nus.edu.sg. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "IFTEKHAR AHMED CHOWDHURY (BANGLADESH) CHAIRMAN OF SECOND COMMITTEE | UN Press". press.un.org. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Dr. Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury". Cosmos Foundation. 2 December 2019. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  8. ↑ "Dispute Settlement". The Daily Star. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  9. ↑ "Bangladesh, Myanmar hold talks to defuse sea row". Reuters. 12 November 2008. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  10. ↑ "Myanmar withdrawal a 'win-win' outcome: Iftekhar". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  11. ↑ Chowdhury, Iftekhar Ahmed (8 June 2019). "Duel at the Shangri-La dialogue: Implications for us all". The Daily Star (Opinion). Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  12. ↑ "Our Leadership - Global Center on Cooperative Security". Global Center on Cooperative Security - Building stronger partnerships for a more secure world. 26 July 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  13. ↑ Mohan, C. Raja; Singh, Hernaikh (4 January 2023). Coping With China-india Rivalry: South Asian Dilemmas. World Scientific. p. 122. ISBN 978-981-12-6373-6.
  14. ↑ "Members' List – AOFA". Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 "Faruq Ahmed Choudhury passes away". The Daily Star. 18 May 2017. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
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