Moeen U Ahmed
| Former Chief of Army Staff |
| Military Service |
Full Name: General Moeen Uddin Ahmed
Affiliation: Bangladesh Army
Current Position: Retired Army Chief
Date of Birth: January 21, 1953
Place of Birth: Bangladesh
Home District: Noakhali
Nationality: Bangladeshi
Profile:
General Moeen U Ahmed (born 21 January 1953) is a former Bangladesh Army General and the 12th Chief of Army Staff of the Bangladesh Army from 15 June 2005 to 15 June 2009 with last one-year extension during the caretaker government led by Fakhruddin Ahmed. He has worked in Bangladesh High Commission in Islamabad, Pakistan as a Defence Attaché in the rank of Brigadier, and prior to that he served as a UN Peacekeeper in United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda as a Colonel in 1995.
Moeen completed his preliminary education from Pakistan Air Force College Sargodha in the erstwhile West Pakistan. He belonged to the 16th entry (831 – Fury House), which stayed there from 1965 to 1970. He joined BMA Comilla on 10 January 1974 and started his military career on 11 January 1975 in the rank of Second Lieutenant. He was commissioned in the 2nd battalion of the East Bengal Regiment. Before joining the army, Moeen served Bangladesh Air Force for a year as a flight cadet, he was in Russia for flying training but he was dismissed due to health conditions. Moeen started his instructional career as Weapon Training Officer and then platoon commander in BMA (then location changed to Chittagong). He received NDC (National Defence College) course after becoming Lieutenant General (as army chief), which course has been designed for Colonel level officers.
Besides, commanding two infantry battalions as Lieutenant Colonel, Moeen also served in Army Headquarters, Military Operations Directorate. He served as Colonel Staff of an Infantry Division. He has served in Dhaka's Defence Services Command and Staff College (DSCSC) as Directing Staff in the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, senior instructor of Army Wing in the rank of Colonel and chief instructor in the rank of Brigadier.
Moeen was promoted to the rank of Major General in 2002 and was appointed as the Commander of the 19th Division and the following year the 24th Division. He was made Chief of General Staff (CGS) in 2004, and on 15 June 2005, he was made the Chief of Army Staff by the then prime minister of Bangladesh Khaleda Zia. On 24 May 2007 Ahmed became the first serving four star General of Bangladesh, promoted by then President Iajuddin Ahmed.
General Moeen was the key force behind the declaration of emergency in the country on 11 January 2007 widely known as 1/11 phenomenon. He upgraded his rank from Lieutenant General to General during his tenure when there was no regular government; the caretaker government was not mandated to work other than routine work and managing parliamentary elections. General Moeen also extended his one-year tenure of Army Chief, which is fixed for a time period. He has been accused of playing a controversial role by helping the caretaker government of Bangladesh to retain power after constitution stipulated three months duration. He has been identified as the main driving force behind the non-elected government but he has also been praised for arranging voter ID cards before 29 December 2008. General Moeen and the caretaker government has been accused of domestically and globally to de-politicise the country. Political parties observed 11 January as a black day.
However, General Moeen engineered numerous controversies during his tenure. It is widely perceived that he is implementing 'Minus Two Formula' a popular name for an attempt made by him to end political career of former prime ministers Begum Khaled Zia and Sheikh Hasina. Hundreds of political figures, including two ex-prime ministers Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia, ministers, lawmakers and local government heads, have been imprisoned by the regime accusing them of corruption. Although some of these figures were notoriously corrupt, most of them do not have any specific allegation against them. The regime's anti-corruption drive has been widely praised and criticized around the globe. Reacting his political statement Sheikh Hasina said if you have the ambition to do politics come without uniform.
On June 15, 2009, General Moeen left the country immediately after retiring from the post of Army Chief and went straight to Florida in the United States. Still he is in the USA.
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