AMA Muhith no more

Abul Maal Abdul Muhith, a former finance minister, has passed away on Friday night. He was 88 years old.

He breathed his last at 12:56 a.m on Saturday in United Hospital in Dhaka.

His first janaza will be held at Gulshan Azad Mosque in Dhaka at 10:00 am and the second janaza will be held at the Parliament premises at around 11:30 am on Saturday.

After that, at roughly 1:00 p.m., his body would be taken to Shaheed Minar for the public to pay their last respects.

Muhith will be laid to rest in Sylhet.

Muhith, a Sylhet native, joined the public service in 1956 following a successful academic career.

During the Liberation War, he held prominent roles in the government and was the first ambassador from Pakistan's embassy in Washington to switch allegiance to Bangladesh.

He was also instrumental in mobilizing international support for Bangladesh. He was awarded the Swadhinata Puroskar, Bangladesh's highest civilian honor, in 2016 for his service to the Liberation War.

Muhith became a member of the Awami League in 2001. He placed the national budget a total of 12 times, which is a record.

In 2002, he was appointed a member of the Advisory Council of Bangladesh Awami League. He was elected Member of Parliament from Sylhet-1 constituency in 2008.

Acting with efficiency and integrity, he retired from active politics before the 2018 elections and announced that he would not run in the elections.

Abul Maal Abdul Muhith is also famous as a writer. Apart from books on administration and liberation war, he has published 30 books on various topics.

Muhith passed the matriculation exam from Sylhet Government Pilot High School in 1949. He secured first place in his Intermediate examination in 1951 from Sylhet MC College. He stood first class first in B.A. (Hons.) in English Literature in 1953 from the University of Dhaka and passed his Masters with credit from the same university in 1955. While in service to the government, he studied at the University of Oxford in 1957-1958. He completed a Master of Public Administration at Harvard University in 1964.

He went for self-retirement in 1981 from his service and then he started his second innings of his career as the specialist of economics and development in Ford Foundation and in the (IFAD). He became Finance and Planning Minister in 1982-83. Next, he worked as the specialist of different institutions of World Bank and the United Nations. 

Muhith has been a recognised figure in the World Bank, IMF, IDB and in different organisations of United Nations. He was the Visiting Fellow of Princeton University in 1984 and 1985.