Khaleda expresses shock
Former president Iajuddin Ahmed passed away at Bumrungrad International Hospital in Bangkok on Monday morning. He was 81.
He breathed his last at 10:40am, his son Imtiaz Ahmed Babu told The Daily Star.
The eminent educationist left behind his wife and only son to mourn his death.
On October 28, he had undergone an operation on his heart valve and since then he was on life support, reports our Munshiganj correspondent.
BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia on Monday expressed her deep shock at the death of Iajuddin.
In a condolence message, the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament prayed for the salvation of his departed soul and expressed sympathy for the grief-stricken family.
Iajuddin took oath of office as President on September 6, 2002 and handed over the power to the incumbent President Zillur Rahman on February 12 in 2009.
On October 29, 2006 Iajuddin assumed the office of chief adviser to the non-party caretaker government in addition to his presidential responsibilities as “major political parties failed to reach a consensus on an acceptable person for the post”.
Iajuddin was an adviser in the caretaker government in 1991, according to Wikipedia.
He became president of Bangladesh in 2002 after becoming the only candidate to register for presidential elections.
He was also chairman of the Public Service Commission from 1991 to 1993 and chairman of the University Grants Commission from 1995 to 1999.
Iajuddin was born in Bikrampur of Munshiganj district on February 1, 1931.
Son of Moulvi Ibrahim Mia, Iajuddin obtained his B Sc and M S at the University of Dhaka in 1952 and 1954 respectively.
Later, he received his M S and Ph D degrees in 1958 and 1962 respectively from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the United States.
He joined the University of Dhaka as an assistant professor in the Department of Soil Science. He moved up in the ranks until he became a full professor in the department.
He held the post of chairman of the Soil Science Department of Dhaka University and dean of the Faculty of Biological Science of the same University.
Iajuddin also worked as visiting professor in Cornell University in the United States in 1984 and the German Technical University and University of Göttingen in Germany in 1984.
Source: The Daily Star
