Chief of Army Staff (Bangladesh)

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) (Bengali: সেনাবাহিনী প্রধান, romanized: Sēnābāhinī prôdhān) of Bangladesh Army, also known as Army Chief, is the commander of the Bangladesh Army.^[1][2][3] The Chief of Army staff has been a four-star rank since 2007. Prior to that, the Chief of Army Staff was a three-star rank from 1978 to 2007. During the liberation war of Bangladesh in 1971, Maj. Gen. M. A. Rab (then lieutenant Colonel) was the Chief of Staff of the Bangladesh Army under the combined command of Bangladesh Forces which served as the origins of Bangladesh Armed Forces and General M. A. G. Osmani was the Commander-in-Chief.^[4] After the War of Independence, Bangladesh Army was officially reverted to the Ministry of Defense in 1972, and Maj. Gen. K. M. Shafiullah was appointed the Chief of Army Staff.^[5] The incumbent Chief of Army Staff is General Waker-Uz-Zaman.^[6][7]

Chief of Army Staff
সেনাবাহিনী প্রধান
Crest of the Chief of Army Staff
Flag of the Chief of Army Staff
Incumbent General Waker-Uz-Zaman since 23 June 2024
Bangladesh Army
Type	Bangladesh Army service chief
Abbreviation	COAS
Member of	National Committee on Security Affairs
Reports to	President Chief Adviser Minister of Defence
Residence	Sena Bhaban, Dhaka Cantonment
Seat	Dhaka Cantonment
Appointer	The Prime Minister with President advice and consent
Term length	3 years, or at the age of 60, whichever is earlier.
Constituting instrument	The Army Act, 1952 of (Act No. XXXIX OF 1952)
Formation	12 April 1971; 53 years ago (1971-04-12)
First holder	General M.A.G Osmani (Commander-in-chief) Major General Mohammad Abdur Rab (Chief of staff)
Unofficial names	Army Chief
Deputy	Chief of the General Staff
Salary	৳150000 (US$1,200) per month ৳1800000 (US$15,000) per year (incl. allowances)
Website	army.mil.bd

The office of the Chief of Army Staff functions from the Army Headquarters, which is located in the Dhaka Cantonment.^[8]

History

The post traces its roots back to the Commander-in-Chief of the Mukti Bahini during the Liberation War of Bangladesh and it was held by Colonel (later General) MAG Osmani. On 25 March 1971, after long negotiations and actions failed to bring desired results, Pakistan Army launched a military crackdown on its own citizens, Pakistani military planners conducted this through Operation Searchlight, which spread across the country in main centers. During the first watch of 26 March 1971, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declared the Independence of Bangladesh.^[9][10][11] Another declaration was read out on 27 March 1971, by then Major Ziaur Rahman, on behalf of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman over radio at Kalurghat Radio Stn., Chittagong City.^[12] As a result, in March 1971, many Bengali soldiers in the Pakistan Army revolted and joined the guerilla movement, Bangladesh Forces. Colonel (later General) Mohd. Ataul Goni Osmani served as the Commander-in-Chief and Lieutenant Colonel (later Major General) Mohd. Abdur Rab as the Chief of Staff.^[4]

Bangladesh Army came into being officially in January, 1972. In April 1972, Prime Minister Sheikh Mujibur Rahman then decided to change the commanding posts of the three services which was combined and commanded by General M. A. G. Osmani. On 7 April 1972, Maj. Gen. K M Shafiullah, was made the chief of army staff.^[13][14]

Chief of Army Staff's rank was upgraded to lieutenant-general in 1978 and then to four-star general in 2007.^[15][16]

Appointees

The following table chronicles the appointees, to the office of the Chief of Army Staff or its preceding positions since the liberation war of Bangladesh.^[17][18][19]

Commander-in-Chief, Mukti Bahini (1971–1972)

No.	Picture	Commander-in-Chief	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Unit of Commission
1		Osmani, M. A. G.General M. A. G. Osmani psc (1918–1984)	12 April 1971	6 April 1972	360 days	Army Service Corps[20]

Chief of staff, Mukti Bahini (1971–1972)

No.	Picture	Chief of staff	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Unit of Commission
1		Abdur Rab, MohammadMajor General Mohammad Abdur Rab Bir Uttom (1919–1975)	11 July 1971	6 April 1972	270 days	Army Service Corps

Chiefs of Army staff (1971–present)

Source:^[1]

No.	Picture	Chief of Army Staff	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Unit of Commission
1		Osmani, M. A. G.General M. A. G. Osmani psc (1918–1984)	12 April 1971	6 April 1972	1 year, 24 days	Army Service Corps[20]
2		Shafiullah, KaziMajor general Kazi Muhammad Shafiullah Bir Uttom, psc (1934–2025)	7 April 1972	25 August 1975	3 years, 140 days	East Bengal Regiment
3		Rahman, Ziaur Major general Ziaur Rahman Bir Uttom, psc (1936–1981)	25 August 1975	3 November 1975	70 days	East Bengal Regiment
-		Mosharraf, KhaledMajor general Khaled Mosharraf Bir Uttom, psc (1937–1975)	3 November 1975	7 November 1975 †	4 days	East Bengal Regiment
(3)		Rahman, Ziaur Lieutenant general Ziaur Rahman Bir Uttom, psc (1936–1981)	7 November 1975	28 April 1978	2 years, 172 days	East Bengal Regiment
4		Ershad, Hussain MuhammadLieutenant general Hussain Muhammad Ershad ndc, psc (1930–2019)	29 April 1978	30 August 1986	8 years, 123 days	East Bengal Regiment
5		Rahman, AtiqurLieutenant general Atiqur Rahman G+ (1931–2023)	31 August 1986	30 August 1990	3 years, 364 days	Regiment of Artillery
6		Khan, NuruddinLieutenant general Nuruddin Khan psc (born 1940)	31 August 1990	30 August 1994	3 years, 364 days	Corps of Engineers
7		Nasim, Abu SalehLieutenant general Abu Saleh Mohammad Nasim Bir Bikrom, psc (born 1943)	31 August 1994	19 May 1996	1 year, 262 days	East Bengal Regiment
8		Rahman, MuhammadLieutenant general Muhammad Mahbubur Rahman psc	27 May 1996	23 December 1997	1 year, 210 days	Corps of Engineers
9		Rahman, MustafizurGeneral Mustafizur Rahman Bir Bikrom, ndc, psc, C (1941–2008)	24 December 1997	23 December 2000	2 years, 365 days	Corps of Engineers
10		Harun, MLieutenant general Mohammed Harun-Ar-Rashid Bir Protik, rcds, psc (born 1948)	24 December 2000	15 June 2002	1 year, 173 days	East Bengal Regiment
11		Chowdhury, HasanLieutenant general Hasan Mashhud Chowdhury awc, psc (born 1948)	16 June 2002	15 June 2005	2 years, 364 days	East Bengal Regiment
12		Ahmed, MoeenGeneral Moeen Uddin Ahmed ndc, psc (born 1953)	16 June 2005	15 June 2009	3 years, 364 days	East Bengal Regiment
13		Ahmed, MoeenGeneral Mohammed Abdul Mubeen ndc, psc (born 1957)	16 June 2009	25 June 2012	3 years, 9 days	East Bengal Regiment
14		Bhuiyan, IqbalGeneral Iqbal Karim Bhuiyan psc (born 1957)	26 June 2012	25 June 2015	2 years, 364 days	East Bengal Regiment
15		Huq, ShafiulGeneral Abu Belal Muhammad Shafiul Haq ndc, psc (born 1958)	26 June 2015	25 June 2018	2 years, 364 days	Armoured Corps
16		Ahmed, AzizGeneral Aziz Ahmed SBP, BSP, BGBM, PBGM, BGBMS, psc, G (born 1961)	25 June 2018	24 June 2021	2 years, 364 days	Regiment of Artillery
17		Shafiuddin Ahmed, SMGeneral SM Shafiuddin Ahmed SBP, OSP, ndu, psc, PhD (born 1963)	24 June 2021	23 June 2024	2 years, 365 days	East Bengal Regiment
18		Zaman,Waker-UzGeneral Waker-Uz-Zaman OSP, SGP, psc (born 1966)	23 June 2024	Incumbent	232 days	East Bengal Regiment

See also

• Chief of Air Staff (Bangladesh)
• Chief of Naval Staff (Bangladesh)
• Chief of the General Staff (Bangladesh)
• List of serving generals of the Bangladesh Army
• Lieutenant General (Bangladesh)
• Military ranks of Bangladesh
• Awards and decorations of the Bangladesh Armed Forces

References

1. "List of Chief of Army Staff". Bangladesh Army. Archived from the original on 22 February 2024.
2. "Major General Moeen U Ahmed new Army Chief". bdnews24.com. 5 June 2005. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
3. "Bangladesh appoints Iqbal Karim Bhuiyan as new Army Chief". First Post. 7 June 2012. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
4. "Stripping ex-army chief Mustafizur Rahman of rank illegal: HC". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
5. "Shafiullah: The blunted General". 15 August 2023.
6. "Chief of Army Staff - Bangladesh Army". Bangladesh Army.
7. "General Waker-Uz-Zaman takes charge as Chief of Army Staff". The Financial Express. 23 June 2024. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
8. "Gen Mubeen takes over army". The Daily Star. 15 June 2009. Retrieved 17 June 2009.
9. "Bangabandhu Shadhinota Ghoshonar Telegraphic Barta". BDNews24. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
10. সংযোজনস্বাধীনতার ঘোষণা: বেলাল মোহাম্মদের সাক্ষাৎকার. bdnews24.com. Archived from the original on 29 March 2010. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
11. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 October 2015. Retrieved 5 April 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
12. "March 27, 1971: Zia makes radio announcement on independence". The Daily Star. 27 March 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
13. "TIMELINE". The Daily Star (newspaper). 15 August 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
14. "Shafiullah new chairman of sector commanders forum". 19 September 2014. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
15. Mascarenhas, Anthony. Bangladesh: A Legacy of Blood. Hodder and Stoughton.
16. "Bangladesh Armed Forces elite promoted". Dawn. 25 May 2007. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
17. "Mukti Bahini". Banglapedia.
18. "O General, My General". The Daily Star. 1 September 2016.
19. "Bir Uttam Abdur Rab's 46th death anniversary Sunday". The Business Standard. 13 November 2021.
20. Indian Army List for July 1941. Government of India Press. 1941. p. 1000.

External links

• Media related to Chief of Army Staff (Bangladesh) at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website