Zillur a Liberation War hero

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DHAKA, Mar 20: President Md. Zillur Rahman was born in a respectable family in the Bhairab thana area of Kishoreganj district on March 9, 1929. His
father, the late Meher Ali Mian, was a renowned lawyer and also chairman of the then Mymensingh Local Board and a member of the district board.
Rahman started his academic career in the district town of Mymenshingh. He passed the matriculation exam from the Bhairab KB High School in 1945,
and obtained the Intermediate of Arts (I. A.) certificate from the Dhaka Intermediate College. He got his masters degree with honours in history and an
LLB
degree
from
the
University
of
Dhaka.
He played an active role in the Language Movement. He presided over a student gathering at the historic Aamtala (mango grove) of Dhaka University
on
February
19,
1952,
demanding
that
Bangla
be
made
the
state
language.
Rahman was prominent among the 11 student leaders who met at the pond-side between Fazlul Huq Hall and Dhaka Hall on February 20, 1952, and
decided
to
defy
Section
144.
In 1953, he was elected vice-president of the students union of Fazlul Huq Hall of Dhaka University without having to contest. He was expelled from
the
university
and
his
degree
was
revoked
because
to
his
active
participation
in
the
Language
Movement.
However, the university authorities were compelled to return his degree in the face of an intense student movement. At the time of the Jukto Front
(United Front) election in 1954, he was made vice-chairman of the Election Steering Committee of greater Mymensingh district. He was also president
of the erstwhile East Pakistan Awami Sechchhasebak League. He was founder-president of the Kishoreganj Awami League in 1956. He was elected
general
secretary
of
the
Dhaka
District
Bar
Association
in
1960.
Rahman came in touch with Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman during his student days at the Dhaka Intermediate College in 1946. He took part in
all mass movements, including the one against military rule in 1962, the six-point movement in 1966 and the mass upsurge in 1969 as a close
associate of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. In 1970, he was elected member of the National Assembly of Pakistan.
Rahman is one of the veteran organisers of the Liberation War in 1971. He was associated with the operation of the Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendro and
publication of the newspaper, Joy Bangla, the mouthpiece of the then Mujibnagar Government. During the War of Independence, the Pakistan
government sentenced him to 20 years of imprisonment, confiscated his property and cancelled his membership of the National Assembly.
In 1972, Rahman took part in preparing the Constitution of Bangladesh as a member of the Bangladesh Constituent Assembly. He was elected MP in
1973 and 1986 from his constituency. In 1996, he became a minister. He held the portfolio of the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development &
Cooperatives.
Rahman
was
again
elected
MP
in
2001.
Zillur Rahman led the party during a tumultuous time after Sheikh Hasina was arrested on July 16, following the promulgation of emergency on January
11, 2007. During Hasinas 11-month imprisonment in the Special Jail and six-month visit abroad , he acted as the president of the party. The Awami
League won a landslide victory in the ninth parliamentary election, held in December 29, 2008. He became MP for the sixth time. He was the deputy
leader
of
the
House,
before
taking
oath
as
the
President.
In 1972, just after Independence, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was elected president and Rahman was elected general secretary of the
Bangladesh
Awami
League.
He
was
re-elected
general
secretary
in
1974.
He was the first general secretary of the Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League in 1975. After the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his
family,
Zillur
Rahman
was
imprisoned
for
four
years.
After Sheikh Hasinas return to the country in 1981, Rahman played an important role as a presidium member of the party. He was again imprisoned in
1986
while
an
MP.
He
was
elected
general
secretary
of
the
party
in
1992
and
1997.
Ivy Rahman, wife of Zillur Rahman, was seriously injured in a grenade attack on August 21, 2004, at a rally of the Awami League on Bangabandhu
Avenue in Dhaka. She succumbed to her injuries two days after the incident. She was a veteran leader of the Awami League. The couple have a son
and two daughters. Zillur Rahman assumed office as the 19th President of Bangladesh on February 12, 2009