Muhammad Abdul Mannan, incumbent State Minister of Finance and elected lawmaker from the Sunamganj 3 constituency for three consecutive terms, has been announced as the new Planning Minister of the Awami League-led cabinet.
He was born in the Dungria village of the Sunamganj district in 1946. Mannan received his early education in his village school and completed his O-Level examinations from the Pakistan Air Force School in Sargodha.
After graduating from Dhaka University he joined the Civil Service in 1974 and served in the government of Bangladesh in various positions, including deputy commissioner of Kishoreganj, Mymensingh and Chittagong.
He worked as joint secretary (political) in Ministry of Home Affairs, Director General in the Prime Minister's office and Director General of NGO Affairs Bureau.
He also served in the Bangladesh Permanent Mission in Geneva as Economic Minister and retired from government service in 2003 as chairman of the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC).
He joined the Bangladesh Awami League in 2005 and was elected Member of Parliament in 2008.
During that period he served as chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Accounts.
He also served as member in the Parliamentary Standing Committee of the Ministry of Public Administration, Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Defense, in which he represented the Prime Minister.
He was elected to the Central Executive Committee of the Bangladesh Awami League as member in 2010 and 2013.
Mannan's wife Zolekha Mannan is a teacher at a women's college in Dhaka.
His daughter Sara is a doctor and lives in USA with her husband.
His son Sadat is a financial professional at Barclay's Capital in the UK, currently living in London.
Mannan is interested in development literature and spends his time working for the welfare of the rural people of Bangladesh.
