Four special assistants have been appointed to Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, including two with the status of state ministers, one with the rank of secretary and another with Grade-2 status.
Among those given the status of state minister, former bureaucrat Bijon Kanti Sarkar has been made special assistant on Hindu, Buddhist, Christian and ethnic minority affairs, while Tanvir Gani has been appointed special assistant on investment and capital market affairs.
According to separate notifications issued by the Cabinet Division on Thursday, the appointments were made under the Rules of Business.
In addition, Md Shakirul Islam Khan has been appointed special assistant on overseas employment for the Asia-Pacific region with the rank of secretary, while Sayed Bin Abdullah has been appointed special assistant on youth employment with Grade-2 status.
Both appointments have been made on a contractual basis through separate notifications issued by the Ministry of Public Administration.
Following a landslide victory in the 13th National Parliament elections, a 50-member cabinet led by BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman was sworn in on February 17. Since then, the portfolios of several ministers and state ministers have been reshuffled multiple times.
At present, the cabinet led by the prime minister comprises 49 members. Apart from the prime minister, there are 25 full ministers and 23 state ministers.
Earlier, the prime minister had 10 advisers with the status of minister and state minister. With the latest appointments, two additional individuals have been granted the status of state minister as special assistants, while two others have been appointed as special assistants with the rank of secretary and Grade-2 status.