Akbar Ali Khan given guard of honour

Eminent economist, freedom fighter, and former caretaker government advisor Dr Akbar Ali Khan was given a guard of honor after his Janaza (funeral prayers) at Azad Mosque in Gulshan on Friday. 

He has been laid to rest at the Martyred Intellectual Cemetery in Mirpuron Friday afternoon.

Dr Akbar Ali Khan, has passed away while undergoing treatment in Dhaka's Evercare Hospital around 10pm on Thursday. 

The body of Akbar Ali Khan was taken to his residence in Gulshan this morning. Relatives and dignitaries paid their respects to him there.

Dr Akbar Ali Khan was born in 1944 at Nabinagar in Brahamanbaria district.

He completed his BA and MA in History from Dhaka University. He then went on to do Masters and PhD in Economics from Queens University in Canada. He joined the Civil Service of Pakistan (CSP) in 1967.

In 1972, he actively participated in the liberation war and was sentenced to fourteen years of rigorous imprisonment in absentia by a military court of the occupation forces. 

The economist taught in various universities of the country. He was an associate professor in Jahangirnagar University.

Dr Akbar Ali joined the provisional Government of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh as the deputy secretary of the Ministry of Defense.

He served with distinction in various Ministries including Cabinet, Finance Education, Irrigation and Environment Divisions.  He worked in the Ministry of Finance for more than sixteen years at levels of joint secretary and above.

Dr Akbar was the chairman National Board of Revenue and secretary of the Internal Resource Division for nearly three years. 

He served as Finance Secretary for more than five and half years covering three consecutive governments. 

In 2001, he was appointed cabinet secretary and retired from that position in 2002. 

He was advisor in charge of the Ministries of Finance, Planning, Commerce, Post, Telegraph and Telephones in the Caretaker Government in 2006 and resigned in protest against the failure of the chief advisor in ensuring a free, fair and impartial election.  He also served as the first chairman of the Regulatory Reforms Commission during 2007-2009.

Dr Khan served as minister (economic) at Bangladesh Embassy in Washington DC for four years from 1987-1991. He was the alternative executive director of the World Bank for more than three years, as the representative of the governments of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and India.

He was elected chairman of the 42-nation FAO sub-committee on Surplus Disposal (Food Aid) for the year 1989. He was elected Vice Chairman of the Officials Committee of the UNCTAD Trade Summit in Columbus, Ohio in 1995.

He has published 14 books and several articles on economics, history, public administration, literature and water resources in various national and international journals. His first book “Some Aspects of Peasant Behavior in Bengal” was praised by The Journal of Economic History (USA) as “a significant contribution to the growing body of new economic history in South Asia.”

Dr Khan’s book “Discovery of Bangladesh” was rated by the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh as the best publication in humanities for the period 1996-98 and was awarded the Justice Md Ibrahim gold medal. His book “Parathaparatar Arthaniti” was highly commended for its wit and originality by Desh – the most widely circulated literary magazine of Kolkata.

His book “People’s Participation in Budgetary Process in Bangladesh: In Search of Policy Reforms” was published in 2008 by Shamunnay – a national advocacy NGO. His latest publications include “Abak Bangladesh Bichitra Chhalanajale Rajneeti” (2017), “Gresham’s Law Syndrome and Beyond” (2015), “Ajab and Jabor Ajab Authraneeti” (2013), “Andhakarer Utsa Hote” (2011), and “Friendly Fires, Humpty Dumpty Disorder and other Essays” (2010).

Akbar Ali was a member of the American Economic Association and a life member of the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. He was awarded the Maulana Akram Khan gold medal for distinguished public service and the Mercantile Bank gold medal for economics research.

He was elected fellow of Bangla Academy in 2010 in recognition of his contribution to the economics and history of Bangladesh.