Zafar Imam

Zafar Imam is a Bangladesh Awami League politician and a former minister of Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and a former member of parliament for Feni-1.

Lieutenant Colonel (Retd.) Zafar Imam Bir Bikrom
জাফর ইমাম
Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate change
In office 23 December 1989 – 6 December 1990
Preceded by	A.K.M. Maidul Islam Mukul
Succeeded by	Kazi Fazlur Rahman
Minister of State for Disaster Management and relief
In office 24 November 1981 – 24 March 1982
Preceded by	Emran Ali Sarkar
Succeeded by	Major General Abdul Mannan Siddique (as Minister of Food)
Member of Parliament
In office 10 July 1986 – 6 December 1990
Preceded by	Position Established
Succeeded by	Khaleda Zia
Constituency	Feni-1
Personal details
Born	(1947-12-13) 13 December 1947 (age 77) Feni, East Bengal, Pakistan
Political party	Bangladesh Awami League
Spouse	Nurmahal Begum
Alma mater	Dhaka University
Awards	Bir Bikrom
Military service
Allegiance	Pakistan (Before 1971)  Bangladesh
Branch/service	Pakistan Army  Bangladesh Army
Years of service	1967-1976
Rank	Lieutenant Colonel
Unit	Frontier Force Regiment East Bengal Regiment
Commands	Sub-Commander of Sector – II CO of 10th East Bengal Regiment CO of 5th East Bengal Regiment CO of 15th East Bengal Regiment
Battles/wars	Bangladesh Liberation War

Military career

Pakistan Army

Imam was commissioned in April 1967 in the 9th Frontier Force Regiment. He served in 9th Frontier Force Regiment till 1970. In late 1970, he was transferred to 24th Frontier Force Regiment. In 1971 he was posted to the 24 Frontier Force Regiment as a captain in Comilla Cantonment.

Bangladesh Army

After the crackdown he left the Pakistan Army and joined the Mukti Bahini.He fought in Sector 2 and served there as a Sub Sector Commander. In October when K Force was formed then he was promoted to the rank of Major and was appointed as the founding Commanding officer of 10 East Bengal Regiment.He was awarded Bir Bikram for his role during the war.After the independence he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He served as the Provost Marshal of Bangladesh Army. Later he was appointed as the Commanding Officer of 15th East Bengal Regiment in Rangpur Cantonment.^[1][2]

Political career

In 1980 Imam joined the cabinet of Ziaur Rahman. After the assassination of President Ziaur Rahman he joined the cabinet of President Abdus Sattar as a Minister of State and was given the charge of Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief. He served there till 24 March 1982.Later he joined the Jatiya Party and was elected to parliament from Feni-1 in 1986.^[3] He was re-elected from Feni-1.On 23 December 1989 he joined the cabinet of President Hussein Mohammad Ershad and took charge as the Minister of Environment Forest and Climate Change. He served until the government fell down in late 1990.^[4]

Imam contested the 1991 election from Feni-1 as a candidate of the Jatiya Party but lost to Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.^[5] The Awami League had nominated Md. Zakaria Bhuiyan who also lost.^[5]

Imam contested the 1996 election from Feni-1 as a candidate of the Jatiya Party but came a distant third behind Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.^[5]

Imam contested the 2001 election from Feni-1 as a candidate of the Awami League but lost to Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.^[5]

References

1. "Battles of Belonia Bulge". The Daily Star. 16 December 2017. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
2. "Fulgazi in the war of liberation". fulgazi.feni.gov.bd. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
3. "Constituency Maps of Bangladesh" (PDF). Bangladesh Election Commission. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
4. "List of 4th Parliament Members" (PDF). Bangladesh Parliament (in Bengali). Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 July 2019. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
5. "Parliament Election Result of 1991, 1996, 2001 Bangladesh Election Information and Statistics". 29 December 2008. Archived from the original on 29 December 2008. Retrieved 12 March 2023.