Sabihuddin Ahmed | |
|---|---|
| Allegiance |  Bangladesh Pakistan (Before 1971) |
| Service | |
| Years of service | 1961–1986 |
| Rank |  Brigadier General |
| Unit | Corps of Engineers |
| Commands |
|
| Battles / wars | Bangladesh Liberation War |
Sabihuddin Ahmed was a Brigadier General of theBangladesh Army.[1] He has previously served in theJatiya Rakkhi Bahini. He was the founding chairman ofBangladesh Rural Electrification Board, the largest power distribution company in Bangladesh.[2][3]
After theIndependence of Bangladesh, PresidentSheikh Mujibur Rahman appointed Ahmed to the Jatiya Rakkhi Bahini led by Brigadier GeneralA. N. M. Nuruzzaman.[4] The Jatiya Rakkhi Bahini was a special paramilitary force composed of veterans ofBangladesh Liberation War.[5][6] The force was assimilated into the Bangladesh Army after theassassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in the15 August 1975 Bangladeshi coup d'état.[7] In 1977, PresidentZiaur Rahman asked Ahmed to head the recently established Rural Electrification Board.[4][8] He agreed on the condition that he would have complete autonomy to operate the organization.[4] He was appointed chairman of the Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board.[9] TheUnited States Agency for International Development provided US$50 million at the beginning of the program.[9] TheAsian Development Bank, theWorld Bank, Kuwait, and Finland provided US$280 million in additional funding.[9] The Government of Bangladesh provided an additional US$132 million.[9]
Ahmed served as the chairman of Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board from 2 January 1978 to 25 June 1986 and was replaced by Brigadier General Mohammad Abdul Halim.[10] He met SenatorLarry Lee Pressler on his tour of Dhaka in 1985.[1]
Ahmed received a heart transplant in the United States with the help of United States National Co-Operatives of Rural Electrification, partner agency of the Rural Electrification Board official, James Cudney.[4]
Ahmed died on 30 May 2008 in Maryland, United States.[4] There is a Brigadier General Sabihuddin Ahmed Hall at the Rural Electrification Board headquarters in Dhaka.[11]
