Sabihuddin Ahmed (general)

Sabihuddin Ahmed
Allegiance Bangladesh
 Pakistan (Before 1971)
Service / branch
Years of service1961-1986
RankBangladesh-army-OF-6 Brigadier General
UnitCorps of Engineers
Commands
Battles / warsBangladesh Liberation War

Sabihuddin Ahmed was a Brigadier General of the Bangladesh Army.[1] He has previously served in the Jatiya Rakkhi Bahini. He was the founding chairman of Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board, the largest power distribution company in Bangladesh.[2][3]

Career

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After the Independence of Bangladesh, President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman appointed Ahmed to the Jatiya Rakkhi Bahini led by Brigadier General A. N. M. Nuruzzaman.[4] The Jatiya Rakkhi Bahini was a special paramilitary force composed of veterans of Bangladesh Liberation War.[5][6] The force was assimilated into the Bangladesh Army after the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in the 15 August 1975 Bangladeshi coup d'état.[7] In 1977, President Ziaur Rahman asked Ahmed to head the recently established Rural Electrification Board.[4][8] He agreed on the condition that he would have complete autonomy to operate the organization.[4] He was appointed chairman of the Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board.[9] The United States Agency for International Development provided US$50 million at the beginning of the program.[9] The Asian Development Bank, the World Bank, Kuwait, and Finland provided US$280 million in additional funding.[9] The Government of Bangladesh provided an additional US$132 million.[9]

Ahmed served as the chairman of Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board from 2 January 1978 to 25 June 1986 and was replaced by Brigadier General Mohammad Abdul Halim.[10] He met Senator Larry Lee Pressler on his tour of Dhaka in 1985.[1]

Ahmed received a heart transplant in the United States with the help of United States National Co-Operatives of Rural Electrification, partner agency of the Rural Electrification Board official, James Cudney.[4]

Death

[edit]

Ahmed died on 30 May 2008 in Maryland, United States.[4] There is a Brigadier General Sabihuddin Ahmed Hall at the Rural Electrification Board headquarters in Dhaka.[11]

References

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  1. ^ a b South Asia and U.S. Interests: A Report to the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1985. p. 9.
  2. ^ Mahmud, AK. "Power Plants". Banglapedia. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  3. ^ Modern Power Systems. Miller Freeman Publications. 1982. p. 52.
  4. ^ a b c d e Choudhury, Ziauddin (1 June 2008). "Brig. Sabihuddin Ahmed: An intrepid soldier passes away". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  5. ^ "Assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (1975) - Jatiyo Rakkhi Bahini (JRB) from law enforcers to Sheikh Mujib's private army - History of Bangladesh". www.londoni.co. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  6. ^ "Brutal killings and appalling inaction". The Business Standard. 15 August 2020. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  7. ^ "Myth, reality and Rakkhi Bahini". The Daily Star. 13 January 2014. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  8. ^ Alam, Mahbubul (18 June 2021). "Rural Electrification Board". Banglapedia. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  9. ^ a b c d "Rural Electrification Program Bangladesh" (PDF). United States Agency for International Development. September 1085. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  10. ^ "Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board". www.reb.gov.bd. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  11. ^ "BREB head for steady power supply in Ramadan". BREB head for steady power supply in Ramadan | theindependentbd.com. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
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