Full Name: Lt. Col. Akbar Hossain (Retd.), BP

Affiliation: Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)

Current Position: Deceased

Date of Birth: January 18, 1941

Date of Death: June 25, 2006

Place of Birth: Bangladesh

Home District: Cumilla

Constituency: 254, Cumilla-6

Term: Fifth (2nd-1979, 5th-1991, 6th-1996 February, 7th-1996, 8th-2001)

Nationality: Bangladeshi

Profile:

Lt. Col. Akbar Hossain (Retd.), BP (18 January 1941 – 25 June 2006) was a heroic freedom fighter of the Bangladesh War of Independence, a politician, a three-time minister in the Bangladesh government and former Member of Parliament representing Cumilla-6 constituency. For his bravery in the war of independence, the government of Bangladesh awarded him the title of Bir Pratik.

Hossain joined the army at Kakul Military Academy in Pakistan in May 1966, after his commission, he was posted to the 31 Baluch Regiment. While serving, he studied for his bachelor's at the University of Dhaka, receiving the degree in 1969. In 1971 he was working in Dhaka cantonment. When the war of liberation started, he escaped from Dhaka cantonment in April and went to India to join the war of liberation. He first joined the War of Independence under Khaled Musharraf and then with the Z force headed by Ziaur Rahman. He was decorated for gallantry, receiving the 'Bir Protik' for his role in the War. After independence was won, he took voluntary retirement from the Bangladesh Army at the end of December 1973, after attaining the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Hossain then became actively involved in politics and helped form the United People's Party (UPP) in January 1974. He went on to become the Vice-President of the UPP. In 1977, the UPP merged with the Jatiyatabadi Front, Hossain left and joined Bangladesh National Party (BNP) and played a crucial role in its founding. Hossain was one of pioneers during the establishment of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) in 1978 and led Bangladesh in the UN Security Council Election in New York on the same year. He then held the position of Joint Secretary General and was one of the Vice-Presidents of the BNP up until his death.

In 1978, Hossain was appointed as the minister for Petroleum and Mineral Resources under the government of President Ziaur Rahman. Hossain was first elected a Member of the Parliament in 1979; he represented the Cumilla-14 constituency in the 2nd Jatiyo Sangshad elections, a seat he was re-elected to four times. During the military dictatorship of General Hossain Mohammad Ershad, Akbar Hossain was jailed on five separate occasions for coming into conflict with the regime. After the ending of the military dictatorship and the election of Khaleda Zia, the country's first female Prime Minister. Hossain returned to government as Minister for the Environment and Forests in October 1993.

In October 2001, Hossain was appointed Minister for Shipping after the BNP led four-party alliance won the 8th Jatiyo Sangshad elections, with a two-thirds majority and Khaleda Zia became the Prime Minister of Bangladesh for the third time. He died in Dhaka in 2006 following a massive heart attack.

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