| Anwar Choudhury | |
|---|---|
| Born | Anwar Bokth Choudhury 15 June 1959 Jagannathpur, Sunamganj, Bangladesh |
| Residence | Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom |
| Nationality | British/Bangladeshi |
| Ethnicity | Bengali |
| Education | BSc Electrical and Electronic Engineering Master of Business Administration |
| Alma mater | University of Salford Durham University |
| Occupation | Diplomat |
| Employer | Foreign & Commonwealth Office |
| Known for | Former British High Commissioner to Bangladesh |
| Religion | Islam |
Anwar Choudhury (Bengali: আনোয়ার চৌধুরী; born 15 June 1959) is the Director of International Institutions at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office. He was a High Commissioner to Bangladesh, and was the first British Head of Mission to be of Bangladeshi origin. Although born in Sylhet Division, in north-eastern Bangladesh, he is a naturalised British citizen; Choudhury has dismissed suggestions of a conflict of loyalty, stating that he would support the English cricket team against Bangladesh (see: Cricket test).[1]
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Choudhury was born in Bangladesh, his family is originally from Provakorpur, Jagannathpur, Sunamganj, and moved from Bangladesh to the United Kingdom when he was young. His main interests include radical change within the government and the potential of the information revolution for the developing world economies. He is married with two children, and his hobbies include playing cricket, bridge and Bangladeshi cuisine.[2]
He followed an unusual route to the Diplomatic Service; he attained a BSc in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the University of Salford in 1985. Choudhury worked at Siemens Plessey, before entering the civil service as an engineering strategist with the RAF. He graduated with an MBA from Durham University in 1995.[3] He was promoted through the Ministry of Defence, until 2000, when he was recruited by the Cabinet Office, before being headhunted for the position as High Commissioner to Bangladesh.[1] He was succeeded in 2008 by Stephen Evans. When he was appointed as High Commissioner to Bangladesh in 2004, he became one of the first two British ambassadors from ethnic minority backgrounds to be appointed (the other being Alp Mehmet, who was appointed Ambassador to Iceland).[4]
On 21 May 2004, he was targeted in a failed grenade attack, in which he was wounded and two bystanders were killed. The attempted assassination came as he was leaving the Dargah-e-Shah Jalal mosque in Sylhet, his home province, following Friday prayers. The reason is yet unknown. [5] Three attackers were sentenced to death for the attack.[6]
| Diplomatic posts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by David Carter |
High Commissioner to Bangladesh 2004—2008 |
Succeeded by Stephen Evans |