Former Minister Engineer Mosharraf Hossain No More

Bangladesh Awami League Presidium Member, former minister and heroic freedom fighter Engineer Mosharraf Hossain has passed away.

He breathed his last at around 10am on Wednesday (May 13) while undergoing treatment in the ICU of Square Hospital in Dhaka. He was 83.

Family sources said he had been receiving treatment for several days due to age-related complications.

Engineer Mosharraf Hossain was elected Member of Parliament seven times from the Chittagong-1 (Mirsarai) constituency. During his long political career, he served in several important ministerial positions.

He was born on January 12, 1943, in Dhum village of Mirsarai upazila in Chittagong. He completed his secondary education at Chittagong Collegiate School and higher secondary education at Sir Ashutosh Government College. In 1966, he earned a BSc degree in Mining Engineering from the University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore.

During his student life, he became involved in the Six-Point Movement and served as president of the East Pakistan Students’ Council. Later, with the support of M A Aziz, he joined Awami League politics.

In 1970, he was elected to the then East Pakistan Provincial Council for the first time. After Bangladesh’s independence, he won parliamentary elections in 1973, 1986, 1996, 2008, 2014 and 2018.

During the Liberation War, he served as a sub-sector commander under Sector 1. At the beginning of the war, he led the operation to blow up the Shuvapur Bridge to halt the advance of Pakistani forces. He later took part in several guerrilla operations.

After independence, he was among the contributors to the drafting of Bangladesh’s Constitution in 1972.

In 1986, he served as the Opposition Whip in parliament. Following the formation of the Awami League government in 1996, he served as minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism and later as minister for Housing and Public Works. He again took charge of the Housing and Public Works Ministry in 2015.

Within the Awami League, he served as general secretary and president of the Chittagong North District unit and was also a member of the party’s Central Executive Council.

His father, S Rahman, was a member of the then Provincial Council and a prominent businessman. He founded Orient Builders Corporation and Hotel Simon in Cox’s Bazar.

Engineer Mosharraf Hossain was also involved in business activities. In 1983, he established the engineering and construction company Gasmin Limited. He also served as chairman of The Peninsula Chittagong hotel.

During his political career, he survived several attacks. In 1980, he lost a leg in an attack in Chittagong’s New Market area. In 1988, he was injured in police firing during a procession led by Sheikh Hasina. In 1992, he sustained serious injuries in another attack in Fatikchhari.

In his personal life, he is survived by his wife Ayesha Sultana, three sons and a daughter.