Abdul Muntaquim Chaudhury

Abdul Muntaquim Chaudhury
আব্দুল মুন্তাকীম চৌধুরী
Ambassador of Bangladesh to Japan
In office 19 June 1973 – 27 August 1976
Preceded by	Manoranjan Dhar
Succeeded by	Mostafa Kamal
Member of the Jatiya Sangsad
In office 7 March 1973 – 6 November 1976
Prime Minister	Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
Preceded by	Position created
Succeeded by	Abdul Jabbar
Constituency	Sylhet-13
Member of the East Pakistan Legislative Assembly
In office 7 December 1970 – 5 March 1971
Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan
In office 1962–1965
President	Ayub Khan
Succeeded by	Mohammad Keramat Ali
Constituency	Sylhet-III
Personal details
Born	(1929-09-02) 2 September 1929 Hailakandi, Barak Valley, British India
Party	Awami League
Children	2
Parent	Tajammul Ali Chaudhury (father)
Alma mater	Aligarh Muslim University, St Xavier’s College - University of Calcutta, Lincoln’s Inn

Abdul Muntaquim Chaudhury (born 2 September 1929) is a Bengali politician, barrister and diplomat. He was a member of the 3rd National Assembly of Pakistan and the 1st Jatiya Sangsad. He served as the ambassador of Japan during 1973–1976.

Early life and background

Chaudhury was born in Hailakandi in the Sylhet district of the British Raj's Assam Province. He belonged to a Bengali Muslim family known as the Zamindars of Kanihati. His elder brother was Abdul Munim Chaudhury. His father, Khan Bahadur Tajammul Ali Chaudhury, was the deputy commissioner and hakim of Sylhet, and the author of the Tawārīkh-i-Halīmī (1894).

Career

Chaudhury was a member of the 3rd National Assembly of Pakistan.

He supported numerous movements at the time such as the Bengali language movement and the Six point movement. During the 1970 Pakistani provincial elections, he was elected as a member of the Pakistan National Assembly as an Awami League candidate.

Chaudhury played an organising role during the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971. Following independence, he was a member of the drafting committee of the Constitution of Bangladesh and played an important role regarding Article 70. He had argued against keeping a provision in the Constitution of Bangladesh that allowed for the expulsion of parliamentary members from parliament if they get expelled from their party.

In the 1973 Bangladeshi elections, Chaudhury won the Sylhet-13 constituency, again as an Awami League candidate. His initial roles with the Government of Bangladesh included serving as the ambassador to Japan, East Germany and South Korea, initiating activities which led to the Textile industry in Bangladesh. Chaudhury's close relationship with Hayakawa made him regarded as the architect of Bangladesh–Japan relations. One of the outcomes of this fruitful relationship was the establishment of the JBIC-funded Pan Pacific Sonargaon hotel in Dhaka.