Shegufta Bakht Chaudhuri

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Shegufta Bakht Chaudhuri
শেগুফতা বখ্‌ত চৌধুরী
Governor of Bangladesh Bank
In office
12 April 1987 – 19 December 1992
Preceded byMohammad Nurul Islam
Succeeded byKhorshed Alam
Advisor of Caretaker government of Bangladesh
In office
30 March 1996 – 23 June 1996
Personal details
Born1931
Bongaon, Habiganj District, Bengal Presidency, British India
Died11 November 2020(2020-11-11) (aged 88–89)
United Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh
RelativesSyed Mujtaba Ali (uncle)
Syed Murtaza Ali (uncle)
Syed Mohammad Ali (cousin)
Syed Muazzem Ali (cousin)
Alma materMurari Chand College, University of Dhaka

Shegufta Bakht Chaudhuri (known as S B Chaudhuri; 1931 – 11 November 2020)[1] was a Bangladeshi economist who served as the fourth governor of Bangladesh Bank, the central bank of Bangladesh during 1987–1992, and was also the advisor of the first caretaker government of Bangladesh in 1996.[2][3][4]

Background[edit]

Shegufta's father was Dewan Mamun Chaudhuri and his paternal grandfather was Khan Bahadur Wasil Chaudhuri.[2] His mother was Syeda Zebunessa Khatun, daughter of Khan Bahadur Syed Sikandar Ali. Writers Syed Mujtaba Ali and Syed Murtaza Ali were Shegufta's maternal uncles.[2] He traced his maternal descent from Shah Ahmed Mutawakkil, a local holy man and a Syed of Taraf, though apparently unrelated to Taraf's ruling Syed dynasty.[5]

Known as Taufiq by his family, Shegufta Bakht Chaudhuri was brought up in his home village of Bongaon, Nabiganj Upazila of Habiganj District in the Division of Sylhet, Bangladesh. He was the eldest of five siblings, having had one younger brother late Mahbubur Rob Sadi and four sisters.[citation needed] S.B. Chaudhuri was known for being an honest and humble man who naturally shied away from the limelight.

Education[edit]

He received a BA (Hons) in Economics from the University of Dhaka in the early 1950s. His Masters in International Relations at the same university was not completed due to illness. He later received a MPA (Master of Public Administration) from John F. Kennedy School of Government in 1967.[citation needed]

Career[edit]

He was initially a journalist at the Morning News newspaper in the early 1950s before joining the Pakistan Taxation Service in 1955 after completing the CSS examinations. He served in different branches of the Pakistan Government service as a section officer and then as a deputy secretary before he went to attend the Harvard School of Government. He was subsequently employed in a number of roles in the Pakistan and later Bangladesh governments. These include:[citation needed]

  • First Secretary (Commercial Attaché) at the Pakistan Embassy at Belgrade, Yugoslavia, 1967–70.
  • Chief Controller of Imports and Exports, Govt. of Pakistan, 1970–71.
  • Director-General, Export Promotion Bureau, Govt. of Bangladesh for a brief period.
  • Chief Controller of Imports and Exports, Govt. of Bangladesh, 1973-1974
  • Additional Secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Secretary of Internal Resources Division, Ministry of Finance, 1974–77
  • Chairman, National Board of Revenue, Govt. of Bangladesh, 1981–87
  • Governor, Bangladesh Bank, 1987–92.

After he retired from Bangladesh Bank, he started a column with the Daily Star titled "Along My Way". He served as an Adviser (the equivalent of a cabinet minister) for three months in the caretaker government of 1996, which ran the country and supervised the parliamentary elections. He was also the Adviser to City Bank, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, from c. 1993/94 to 1998.[citation needed]

Death[edit]

Shegufta Bakht Chaudhuri died on 11 November 2020 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He was survived by his wife late Nargis Chaudhuri, son and daughter as well as three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.[6]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Shegufta Bakht Chaudhuri passes away". The Daily Star. 12 November 2020. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  2. ^ a b c সাবেক গভর্নর এস বি চৌধুরী আর নেই. bdnews24 (in Bengali). Retrieved 2020-11-11.
  3. ^ "Governors of BB". Bangladesh Bank. Retrieved 2016-01-06.
  4. ^ Sirajul Islam; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir, eds. (2012). "Bangladesh Bank". Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. OL 30677644M. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  5. ^ Khan, Nurur Rahman (1999), Sharif Uddin Ahmed (ed.), "Syed Mujtaba Ali", Sylhet: History and Heritage, Sylhet: Bangladesh Itihas Samiti: 824–25, ISBN 978-984-31-0478-6
  6. ^ "OP-ED: Remembering Shegufta Bakht Chaudhuri". Dhaka Tribune. 2020-11-12. Retrieved 2023-02-28.