SM Shafiuddin Ahmed made new army chief

The Defence Ministry has named Lieutenant General SM Shafiuddin Ahmed as the next chief of Bangladesh Army. Lt Gen Shafiuddin, who now serves as the quartermaster general at the Army Headquarters, will take up the post on June 24 and serve for three years, according to a notice issued by the ministry on Monday.

He will replace current army Chief General Aziz Ahmed.

Lt General Shafiuddin will be promoted to the rank of general before taking up the position of army chief, said the defence ministry notification.

Commissioned in the 9th Bangladesh Military Academy (BMA) Long Course in 1983 in the infantry corps, Lt Gen Shafiuddin previously served as the general commanding officer of Army Training and Doctrine Command (ARTDOC).

In 2012, he became the general officer commanding of the 19th Infantry Division.

In his career, Lt Gen Shafiuddin has also served as a director general of the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BISS) and a senior directing staff of the National Defence College.

He also played a key role in UN peacekeeping missions as deputy force commander in the Central African Republic.