| Atiur Rahman | |
|---|---|
| Governor of Bangladesh Bank | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office May 1, 2009 |
|
| President | Zillur Rahman |
| Deputy | Nazrul Huda Ziaul Hasan Siddiqui Murshid Kuli Khan |
| Preceded by | Salehuddin Ahmed |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 13, 1953 Jamalpur, Bangladesh |
| Political party | Bangladesh Awami League |
| Spouse(s) | Dr. Shahana Rahman |
| Alma mater | University of Dhaka University of London |
| Profession | Economist |
| Website | Official website |
Atiur Rahman is the Governor of Bangladesh Bank, the central bank of the country. A development economist of Bangladesh, he is noted for writing on popular economic issues, and has written a good number of books both in Bengali and English.
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From a very humble background Atiur Rahman rose to the top echelon of the society. He was born in a remote village in Jamalpur district in 1951. His father who was a landless farmer had received no schooling in his life. Atiur went to the school but had to quit after grade-III because of poverty. However his strong determination and will power made him conquer all the barriers. He had to sit for the class IV final examinations without attending any class. But when the result came out, his name topped the list.
Atiur's mother came off a better background and was literate. It was she who was Atiur's first teacher. Atiur went to the village school till gradeVI. After grade-VI he wanted to go to a Cadet College for better education. Eventually he got admitted to the prestigious Mirzapur Cadet College of the-then Mymensingh in grade-VII. A school teacher of the village Foyez Moulavi collected charity to facilitate his admission. Considering his financial inability, the college authority granted him free tuition. Thus he could continue at the college from where he passed the SSC and HSC examinations with outstanding results securing positions in the merit list both times. He went to the Dhaka University for studying economics. After obtaining BSS and MSS in Economics, he applied for Commonwealth scholarship and was successful. He went to SOAS, London, from where he obtained his Ph.D. in 1977. His Ph.D. thesis later came out as a book under the title "Peasants and Classes" published by the Oxford University Press, which is much admired by the economists worldwide and is being used as a reference book in many universities throughout the world.[1]
On 29 April 2009, he was appointed as the governor of Bangladesh Bank, the central bank of the country, for a tenure of four years.[2] He assumed charge on 3 May 2009. He is the 10th governor of the Bangladesh Bank, succeeding Dr. Salehhddin Ahmed.[3] Till then he was a professor in the department of Development Studies at the Dhaka University. Before that he had worked at the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies in different capacities for nearly 28 years and retired as Senior Research Fellow on 4.4.2006.[4] He also served as director of the state-owned Sonali Bank,[5] the largest in Bangladesh.[6] In 2001, government appointed him as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Janata Bank,[5] the second-largest in the country.[7] [8] In 1994, he established a development NGO under the title Unnayan Samannay which grew into an excellent centre for research , development and cultural learning in Bangladesh. He was the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Shamunnay till taking up the job of the governor of Bangladesh. In 2006 he joined the Dhaka University in the department of Development Studies as a professor.[9] Also, he has played a major role in the much publicized microcredit revolution in Bangladesh , serving in Mohammed Yunus' National Task Force on Poverty Eradication. He worked as Project Director or Team Leader of as many as twenty international and fifty national development projects of the country. He was also involved in the management of a number of socio-cultural organizations including Credit Development Forum, Monajatuddin Smriti Sangsad, Bangladesh Economic Association and Asiatic Society and BangIa Academy.[10]
Atiur Rahman has distinguished himself as an expert on poverty alleviation. It is his pet area and he has been engaged in first hand research to find the causes of poverty and means of remedy. One of the most important researches is his work on char (shoal) dwellers and poverty alleviation.[3]
Atiur Rahman is a popular newspaper columnist who often writes on poverty, public expenditure, economic development, public welfare and such other socio-economic issues. He has published 45 titles as of 2009, of which 16 are in English and 29 in Bengali. Some of his publications are as follows[11] :
Bengali language
English language
Atiur Rahman was awarded the Atish Dipankar Gold Medal in 2000 and the Chandrabati Gold Medal in 2008.[10]