President Mohammed Shahabuddin on Sunday evening administered the oath of office to three new advisers to the interim government led by Nobel laureate economist Professor Dr Muhammad Yunus.
The newly appointed advisers are Sheikh Bashir Uddin, managing director of the AkijBashir Group; film director Mostofa Sarwar Farooki; and Mahfuj Alam, special assistant to the chief adviser.
Bashir Uddin is the new adviser for the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Textiles and Jute while Farooki will take the helm of the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, according to a notification issued after the oath-taking ceremony.
However, Mahfuj Alam has not yet been given any portfolio.
The swearing-in ceremony took place in the evening at Bangabhaban. With the inclusion of these three new advisers, the Advisory Council now stands at 24.
The interim government was formed on August 8, following the fall of the Awami League government in an uprising, with Dr Yunus serving as the chief adviser.
There were suggestions from various quarters to appoint more members to the Advisory Council to bring dynamism to the government's activities.
The council earlier inducted two coordinators of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement as advisers: Nahid Islam and Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain.
Sheikh Bashir Uddin
Son of Sheikh Akij Uddin, Sheikh Bashir Uddin is the Managing Director of AkijBashir Group, the country's leading industrial conglomerate.
He was born in 1974 in the village of Navaron, Jessore, and destined for the business world, thanks to the guidance of his father. While many of his peers celebrated their matriculation exams in 1988, Bashir’s path diverged as his father called him to join the family business.
At the age of 14, he started earning a modest Tk300 a month as a stationery purchaser at Akij Group. From sourcing books and pens to overseeing the company’s broader expansion. By the age of 32, Bashir was appointed Managing Director of Akij Group.
Under his stewardship, Akij Group flourished, with a particular focus on modernizing the tobacco division. This overhaul, which included a Tk1,000 crore investment, marked a pivotal chapter in the company’s history.
In 2018, Bashir made one of the moves of his career: the sale of Akij Group’s flagship tobacco business for $1.47 billion. The deal, Bangladesh’s largest foreign direct investment at the time, was driven by a combination of family considerations and a strategic shift toward diversifying into non-tobacco sectors, which were thriving.
Following the sale, Bashir led a restructuring of Akij Group and established AkijBashir Group, a new entity focusing on a wide range of industries, including ceramics, steel, and polymers.
Mostofa Sarwar Farooki
Noted film director, producer and screenwriter Mostofa Sarwar Farooki was born in Nakhalpara, Dhaka on May 2, 1973.
His films Third Person Singular Number, Television and No Bed of Roses were critically acclaimed across the world and received numerous international and national awards.
He studied at Tejgaon Government High School. Later, he studied film and media at Dhaka University.
Farooki began his career as an assistant director before establishing himself as a director and screenwriter. He initially worked in the television industry, where he gained experience working on various projects, including drama series and documentaries.
He has set a new trend in terms of presentation and direction in early 2000. His debut film was Bachelor (2003). Then his second film, a political satire Made in Bangladesh (2007), and the third film Third Person Singular Number was premiered in Busan International Film Festival (2009). After that he made a short film named Ok Cut.
In 2004, he made "Joyjatra" – a poignant drama set against the backdrop of the liberation war of Bangladesh. In 2019 "Sultana’s Dream", adaptation of Begum Roquiah Sakhawat Hossain’s famous feminist work.
His fourth feature Television (2012) won the APSA Grand Jury Prize in 2013, as well as a further five international awards from Dubai, Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival, Rome's Asiatica Film Mediale, and Kolkata International Film Festival. He also got award for his film Ant Story and the feature film Doob: No Bed of Roses.
Farooki was appointed as an international jury of Asia Pacific Screen Awards 2015, Busan International Film Festival 2017 and Kolkata International Film Festival 2017 and Dhaka International Film Festival 2020. He received the Fazlul Haq Memorial Award 2018.
Farooki also makes commercials for local and international brands like Djuice, Citycell, Banglalink, Ekhanei.com, Crown Cement, Grameenphone, Close-Up, Robi etc.
Farooki is married to famous actor Nusrat Imrose Tisha.
Mahfuj Alam
Former Dhaka University student Mahfuj Alam, also known as Mahfuz Abdullah, was appointed as the Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser on August 28.
He played a vital role in the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement and currently coordinates its Liaison Committee.
Mahfuj’s contributions to the quota reform protests and the one-point movement garnered international attention after Prof Yunus introduced him as the “mastermind” behind the movement during an event on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
Born in Ichapur village of Ramganj Upazila, Lakshmipur in 1995, Mahfuj completed his Dakhil exam (SSC) from Gallak Daruchhunnat Alim Madrasa and Alim (HSC) from Tameerul Millat Kamil Madrasa. He attended the Law Department at Dhaka University during the 2015-16 academic year.
