Captain Muhammad Mansur Ali | |
|---|---|
মুহাম্মদ মনসুর আলী | |
 Mansur Ali in 1954 | |
| 3rdPrime Minister of Bangladesh | |
| In office 25 January 1975 – 15 August 1975 | |
| President | Sheikh Mujibur Rahman |
| Preceded by | Sheikh Mujibur Rahman |
| Succeeded by | Mashiur Rahman (acting) |
| Minister of Finance of the Provisional Government | |
| In office 17 April 1971 – 12 January 1972 | |
| President | Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Syed Nazrul Islam (acting) |
| Prime Minister | Tajuddin Ahmad |
| Succeeded by | Tajuddin Ahmad |
| 2ndLeader of the House | |
| In office 25 January 1975 – 15 August 1975 | |
| Preceded by | Sheikh Mujibur Rahman |
| Succeeded by | Shah Azizur Rahman |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 16 January 1917 |
| Died | 3 November 1975 (1975-11-04) (aged 58) Dacca Central Jail,Dhaka, Bangladesh |
| Political party | Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League (1975) |
| Other political affiliations | All-India Muslim League (before 1949) Awami League (1949–1975) |
| Children | 6, includingMohammad Selim andMohammed Nasim |
| Alma mater | Aligarh Muslim University |
| Awards | Independence Award |
Muhammad Mansur Ali[a] (16 January 1917 – 3 November 1975) was a Bangladeshi politician who was a close confidant ofSheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding leader of Bangladesh. A senior leader of theAwami League, Mansur also served briefly as thePrime Minister of Bangladesh in 1975 until he wasassassinated while incarcerated on 3 November 1975.[1]
Muhammad Mansur Ali was born on 16 January 1917 to aBengali Muslim family ofSarkars in the village of Kuripara inQazipur,Sirajganj (then underPabna District),Bengal Presidency.[2] His father's name was Haraf Ali Sarkar.[3] Mansur pursued his education in Kolkata Islamia College (nowMaulana Azad College), graduating in 1942. He would pursue aMA degree in economics and in 1945 completed a law degree fromAligarh Muslim University.[4] During this period Mansur became an active member of theMuslim League, which underMuhammad Ali Jinnah demanded a separateMuslim state ofPakistan. He served as the vice-president of the Pabna District Muslim League from 1946 to 1950. He received training at Jessore Cantonment as a captain in PLG (Pakistan Lancers Group) in 1948. Since then he was widely known as Captain Mansur. Deciding to practise law, he enrolled in the Pabna District Court in 1951.[1]
He would soon be elected member of Awami League's central executive committee and president of its Pabna District unit. Mansur was arrested by police in 1952 for helping to organise protests against the declaration ofUrdu as the sole official language, in what became known as theLanguage Movement. Mansur and his party demanded thatBengali also receive recognition and the provinces be grantedautonomy. After his release, Mansur was elected a member of the East Pakistan Legislative Assembly in 1954 as a candidate of theUnited Front alliance of various political parties. In the cabinet headed byAtaur Rahman Khan, Mansur served in different periods as the province's minister of law, parliamentary affairs, food, agriculture, commerce and industry. Mansur was re-arrested in the aftermath of the coup d'état led byAyub Khan, who becamePresident of Pakistan and imposedmartial law. He would remain incarcerated from 1958 to 1959.[1]Mansur Ali played an important role in theSix point movement led bySheikh Mujibur Rahman, who demanded substantial regional autonomy and opposed the military regime. In the 1970 elections, he was elected member of the legislative assembly. At the outbreak of theBangladesh Liberation War in 1971, Mansur went underground to organise agovernment in exile. Mansur became the minister of finance in theMujibnagar government. After the independence of Bangladesh, Mansur was the minister of communications and later home affairs. After the introduction of a one-party, presidential system in 1975, Mujib became thePresident of Bangladesh. Mansur was appointed the prime minister. He helped Mujib organise theBangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League.[1]
He married Begum Amina the daughter of a District Judge from the area of Rangpur. They had five sons and one daughter. His eldest son DrMohammad Selim became a lawyer and studied for the BAR at Lincoln's Inn. He is a politician and became Presidium member for Awami League and held the position of Chairman of Bangladesh Foreign Affairs Committee as well as being an MP representing his father's constituency Kazipur in Sirajganj District. Mansur's second sonMohammad Nasim also became a leader of prominence and was MP and held ministerial posts of Telecoms and Home for Awami League government between 1996 and 2001.[5]
On 15 August 1975, Mujib wasassassinated along with his family by a group of military officers. The15 August coup d'état was masterminded byKhondaker Mostaq Ahmad, a disgruntled member of Mujib's regime who would become president. Mansur went into hiding immediately after the killing. When Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad invited Awami League leaders such as Mansur Ali,Syed Nazrul Islam,A. H. M. Qamaruzzaman andTajuddin Ahmad to join his government, they refused.[1] They were arrested by the army on 23 August 1975. Refusing to support Ahmad's regime, they were murdered while incarcerated in theDhaka Central Jail on 3 November, which was one of the key points for the3 November coup, which already ousted Ahmad from power again.[6]
Media related toMuhammad Mansur Ali at Wikimedia Commons| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Bangladesh 1975 | Succeeded by Mashiur Rahman Acting |
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