Abdul Hamid has taken oath as the country’s 20th president today.
He was declared elected unopposed on Monday.
Acting Speaker Shawkat Ali administered the oath to Hamid at Bangabhaban Darbar Hall in the evening.
However, no BNP lawmakers joined the oath-taking ceremony.
Hamid , who was the Speaker, will hold the top constitutional post for the next five years.
The Election Commission had declared the 69-year-old seasoned politician Hamid elected uncontested following scrutiny of his nomination papers filed on Sunday. He was the lone candidate for the presidency which fell vacant with the death of Zillur Rahman on March 20.
Hamid has been acting president since March 14 after Zillur Rahman fell ill.
The former Speaker of Jatiya Sangsad was elected the junior most member of the National Assembly in 1970 from Mymensingh-18 constituency. He joined the Liberation War in 1971 and was awarded the Swadhinata Padak this year for his contribution to the war.
Hamid was elected member of parliament in 1973, 1986, 1991, 1996, 2001 and 2008 from a Kishoreganj constituency. He was unanimously elected Deputy Speaker in the seventh parliament in 1996, and in 2001 was elected Speaker. In the present parliament, he was unanimously elected Speaker in January 2009.
