Bangladesh's longest-serving finance minister M Saifur Rahman, who was a veteran Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader died at accident on Saturday (05-09-2009) . died at Brahmanbaria Sadar Hospital following a road accident, Rahman, aged 77, was critically injured after his car lost control on the Dhaka-Sylhet highway and ran into a roadside ditch. He was rushed to the Sadar Hospital, where he was declared dead at around 3pm, doctors said. Rahman was on his way to Dhaka from his hometown of Moulavi Bazar. He had gone to Sylhet on Friday and offered prayers at Hajrat Shahjalal's shrine. Brahmanbaria local police said the accident occurred at Khariala near Ashuganj when his car lost control and fell into the roadside ditch and went about 4-5 feet under water.
In instant reaction to the sudden death of Rahman, BNP postponed the meeting of its parliamentary party scheduled for Saturday evening.
BNP chairperson and leader of the opposition in parliament Khaleda Zia also canceled all her set itinerary for the rest of the day, her press secretary Maruf Kamal Khan Sohel told.
Ruling Awami League's acting president Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury in a statement also expressed her deep shock at the sudden death of the veteran BNP leader.
Saifur Rahman was born in 1932 at Baharmardan village under Moulvibazar district in greater Sylhet. He passed BA (Hons) from Dhaka University in 1953 and obtained fellowship in chartered accountancy in 1958 from Institute of Chartered Accounts from UK. Rahman served as an elected chairman of International Monetary Fund and the World Bank's Board of Governors. He represented Bangladesh to the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and Islamic Development Bank for different terms between 1980 and 1996. He also led the Bangladesh finance and commerce delegations to EEC, ESCAP, Commonwealth, IFD, UNCTAD, Commonwealth, the World Bank and IMF. In 1979, Rahman visited India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka as the special envoy of Bangladesh president. He also represented Bangladesh in the NAM summit held in Columbia in 1995. He was also the chief of Bangladesh delegation to the OIC conference in Bosnia in 1995. In course of his professional career, Saifur Rahman served as a consultant to many national and international agencies on chemical, oil and gas, transport, banking and insurance.
A chartered accountant by profession, Rahman was inducted into politics by late president Ziaur Rahman, appointing him as a technocrat minister. Saifur Rahman was elected to parliament for four times, but he was defeated in the 2008 parliamentary election from two constituencies—Sylhet-1 and Moulvibazar-3—that he had contested. Rahman served as commerce minister during late president Ziaur Rahman's regime and as finance and planning minister in later times under BNP-led governments. During 1991-96 BNP-led government, Rahman introduced Value Added Tax (VAT).
The US government has condoled the death of veteran BNP leader M Saifur Rahman, who was Bangladesh's longest serving finance minister. "We are shocked and saddened by the death of former finance minister M Saifur Rahman and extend our condolences to his family," said a press statement issued by the local American Centre Saturday afternoon.
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