Former member of the parliament Advocate Reza Ali passed away on Monday morning while undergoing treatment at Singapore's Mount Elizabeth Hospital. He was 83.
He was elected as the Member of Parliament from the Mymensingh-7 constituency.
Awami League General Secretary and Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader expressed profound shock and sorrow at the death of Reza Ali.
In a condolence message, Quader prayed for the eternal peace of the departed soul and conveyed deep sympathy to the bereaved family members.
Born on the 10th of April, 1940, Reza Ali was the eldest son of (late) T Ali of Kasba — a Minister in the Central Government of Pakistan, Ambassador to Egypt and President of the Bangladesh Supreme Court Bar Association — and (late) Sarah Ali of Sylhet.
Ali was a former member of the Awami League Advisory Council and he was also the convener of Trishal Upazila Awami League of Mymensingh.
Reza Ali was educated at St Gregory's High School, Dhaka, Aitchison College, Lahore and Dhaka University.
He qualified as an Advocate and was a member of the Supreme Court Bar. He was at the forefront of the Dhaka University student movement of the early 1960s against the regime of Ayub Khan, for which he was imprisoned.
He is one of the pioneers of the advertising industry in Bangladesh, having established Bitopi Advertising in 1968. His campaigns for Maya Bori, Raja and Orsaline were to have far-reaching effects in the areas of family planning and public health of the then-young country.
Other campaigns that are still a part of the cultural folklore are for brands like Bata, British Airways, Coca-Cola, British American Tobacco, Reckitt Benckiser, Grameen Phone and innumerable other brands.
During the Liberation War, at grave personal risk, he smuggled to safety intellectuals, artists and their families who were targeted by the West Pakistani forces and their collaborators.
Later, in 1984, he set up Misami Garments, which in due course became one of several world-class factories. Two of the highest LEED-certified factories in the world were established by him.
He was at the forefront of the ship-breaking industry and was the founder-President of the Shipbreakers Association of Bangladesh.
He established Remi Farms in Trishal, Mymensingh and it was from Trishal that he was elected to the parliament with an overwhelming majority.
He served for many years as the Honorary Consul of Slovakia to Bangladesh. He was the Chairman of the Bashundhara Welfare Society. He was actively involved in Dhaka Community Hospital along with his lifelong friend Dr Mahmuder Rahman.
His interests were varied, from travelling to the remotest corners of Bangladesh to hiking the Himalayas, he never lost his passion and zest for life.
Reza Ali is survived by his wife, Prof (Retd) Nayeema Ali; brothers, Major (Retd) Sadek Ali, former Ambassador Dr Toufiq Ali and Pasha Ali; children, Miran, Sarah and Mishal; daughters-in-law Samira Rahman and Ambel Merono; as well as his grandchildren Taresh, Rishan, Iraz, Alejandro, Amara and her father Awrup.
His first Janaza will be held on Tuesday Baad Zuhr at Masjid Al-Falah, 22 Bideford Road, Singapore, 229923.
His second Janaza will be held on Wednesday Baad Zuhr at Gulshan Azad Mosque, Dhaka.
His third Janazah will be held on Wednesday Baad Asr at Bashundhara R/A Central Mosque, Block-D, Road 4 (Mufti Abdur Rahman Road).
His fourth Janazah will be held on Thursday Baad Zuhr at Nazrul Academy Trishal, Mymenshingh.
He will be laid to rest Baad Asr in his family graveyard at his beloved Remi Farms, Dhanikhola, Trishal after the fifth Janazah.