Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has emerged gradually from grassroots politics, while was a student leader in his student life, an economics teacher in his professional life, and later entered politics and served as a municipality chairman, a parliament member, and state minister.

Mirza Fakhrul, the BNP secretary general and LGRD and Cooperatives minister, is now going to become the 23rd President of the country as Prime Minister Tarique Rahman formally declared him as the President candidate from BNP today. He has a 78-year political career. Along with fulfilling his political duties, he has also progressed through various adversities.

Mirza Fakhrul has been serving as the BNP secretary general since March 30, 2016. Earlier, he was the acting secretary general of the party for five years from March 20, 2011. On December 8, 2009, he was made the senior joint secretary general of the party at the BNP's fifth national council.

His political journey began during his student life. While studying economics at Dhaka University, he got involved in leftist politics and led the East Pakistan Students Union at various levels.

He was the president of the organisation's Dhaka University unit and the elected general secretary of the SM Hall unit. He was the president of the Dhaka University unit of the students union during the 1969 Mass Uprising.

After achieving his bachelor's and master's degrees in economics from Dhaka University, Mirza Fakhrul joined the teaching profession. After teaching economics at Dhaka College, he joined the government service.

In 1979, he served as the private secretary to the then Deputy Prime Minister SA Bari during the regime of President Ziaur Rahman. He left the government service in 1986 and joined active politics.

In 1988, Mirza Fakhrul won the Thakurgaon Municipality election as an independent candidate and became its chairman. He joined the BNP during the nationwide movement against Ershad in the early 1990s. In 1992, he was made the president of the Thakurgaon District BNP.

After passing through various stages of the BNP's organisational structure, Mirza Fakhrul became a member of the party's executive committee and later its senior joint secretary general.

Before coming to the top leadership of the party, he was the first vice-president of the BNP's farmers' organisation, Jatiyatabadi Krishak Dal, and later served as its president for a long time.

In the 8th National Parliament polls held in 2001, Mirza Fakhrul was elected as a member of parliament as a BNP candidate from his district's Thakurgaon-1 constituency. From 2001 to 2006, he served as the State Minister for Agriculture and Civil Aviation and Tourism.

He contested the 9th National Parliament election in 2008. In the 11th National Parliament polls held in 2018, he was elected from Thakurgaon-1 and Bogura-6 constituencies.

However, he did not take oath as a member of parliament, citing allegations of vote rigging across the country.

Mirza Fakhrul's rise to the top leadership of the BNP came at one of the most difficult times in the party's history. After the political changeover of 1/11 and the long rule of the Awami League, the BNP faced widespread repression and political hardship.

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The then BNP Chairperson, Begum Khaleda Zia, was in prison for almost two years since 2018 and later became largely inactive in politics due to her illness. Senior Joint Secretary General of BNP Tarique Rahman, went to London in 2008 during the army-backed caretaker government and continued to lead the party from there.

In such situation, Mirza Fakhrul became the visible main leader in BNP's political activities and movements from the country. He led the movement against the Sheikh Hasina government from the frontline and was imprisoned three times while conducting political programmes.

In 2016, he was formally elected as the party's secretary general at the Sixth National Council of BNP. Since then, he has been serving in this position.

His political journey had began from student politics and teaching to grassroots leadership and finally assumed the top leadership of BNP.

Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir was born on January 26, 1948 in Kalibari area of Thakurgaon town. His father, Mirza Ruhul Amin, was a lawyer. He was a two-time member of the Provincial Council of Pakistan and later a member of parliament of Bangladesh. He also served as a minister during the Ershad government. His mother was Mirza Fatema Amin.

After completing his primary and secondary education in Thakurgaon, Mirza Fakhrul passed his higher secondary from Dhaka College. Then he enrolled in Dhaka University and studied Economics.

However, his political roots were formed during his student life. After joining leftist student politics, he entered national politics through Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani's National Awami Party (NAP). Later, after passing through the path of teaching and government service, he joined the BNP.

As the BNP secretary general, Mirza Fakhrul has been playing an important role in the party's decision-making and public-related activities. Senior leaders of the party have praised his role in keeping the BNP organised and maintaining the party's political presence during difficult times.

Mirza Fakhrul is playing a key role in the new political context after the formation of the BNP government under the leadership of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman. His seat in the 13th National Parliament is next to Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.

BNP leaders believe that honoring Mirza Fakhrul with the highest constitutional post of the state for his long-standing role during the party's difficult times is in recognition of his political contribution.

In his personal life, Mirza Fakhrul is a family-oriented one having his wife Rahat Ara Begum and two daughters Mirza Shamaruh and Mirza Safaruh. His wife is a former senior official of a private financial institution and is currently on retirement.

The elder daughter lives in Australia and is working as a postdoctoral fellow in Sydney. The younger daughter teaches at an English medium school in Dhaka.

From student leader and teacher to grassroots politician, member of parliament, state minister and BNP secretary general - Mirza Fakhrul's political journey is intertwined with the history of Bangladeshi politics spanning more than five decades.

His nomination for the post of the President is going to start another important chapter in his long political life.

Writers: Md. Manikul Azad and Rumana Jaman