The BNP-led government is set to make its first major cabinet reshuffle, with portfolios allocated to four newly appointed ministers and two state ministers, according to senior officials of the Cabinet Division.
The portfolio of another minister has also been changed, with a gazette notification expected to be issued by Friday night, the officials said.
On Friday evening, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir took oath as the 23rd president of Bangladesh at Bangabhaban. He later administered the oath to four ministers and two state ministers.
The four new ministers are BNP Standing Committee member Abdul Moyeen Khan, Bangladesh Jatiya Party (BJP) Chairman Andaleeve Rahman Partho, former State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Rashiduzzaman Millat, and Bandarban MP Saching Prue Jerry.
The two new state ministers are Prime Minister’s Foreign Affairs Adviser Humaiun Kobir and Gaibandha-4 MP Mohammad Shamim Kaiser Lincoln.
Who gets which portfolio
Abdul Moyeen Khan will take charge of the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives, which was left vacant after Mirza Fakhrul became president.
Rashiduzzaman Millat, who has been elevated from state minister to minister, will head the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism. He had been serving as the state minister of the ministry.
The ministry’s current minister, Afroza Khanam (Rita), will be given another portfolio.
Saching Prue Jerry, a Bandarban MP and BNP Executive Committee member, will become the minister for Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs.
Dipen Dewan had initially been appointed minister of the ministry after the BNP formed the government but later resigned. Mir Mohammad Helal Uddin is currently serving as its state minister.
Andaleeve Rahman Partho, chairman of the Bangladesh Jatiya Party (BJP), will take charge of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
Zahir Uddin Swapon, who has been serving as the minister of the ministry, will be appointed an adviser to Prime Minister Tarique Rahman with ministerial rank.
Gaibandha-4 MP Mohammad Shamim Kaiser Lincoln will serve as state minister for Religious Affairs. Kazi Shah Mofazzal Hossain (Kaykobad) is the minister in charge of the ministry.
Humaiun Kobir will be appointed state minister for Foreign Affairs. Shama Obaed Islam is already serving as state minister at the ministry, meaning the Foreign Affairs Ministry will now have two state ministers.
Khalilur Rahman is serving as the foreign affairs minister.
First major cabinet reshuffle
The BNP formed the government under Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on February 17 following its landslide victory in the 13th national parliamentary election.
Initially, 25 ministers and 24 state ministers took oath alongside the prime minister.
Later, Liberation War Affairs Minister Hafiz Uddin Ahmad and State Minister for Land Kaiser Kamal resigned after being elected speaker and deputy speaker, respectively.
Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs minister Dipen Dewan also subsequently resigned.
The Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Ministry was left vacant after Mirza Fakhrul won the presidential election and assumed office.
The vacancies and redistribution of portfolios have paved the way for the first major cabinet reshuffle of the BNP-led government.
The changes include the appointment of six new cabinet members, the transfer of Afroza Khanam’s portfolio and the appointment of Zahir Uddin Swapon as an adviser to the prime minister.