Ashfaqur Rahman

Rahman began his career as a journalist, then became a teacher, and later joined the civil service after passing the Pakistan Civil Service Examination in 1970.^[1] After the Independence of Bangladesh in 1971, he joined the foreign service branch of the Bangladesh Civil Service.^[2]

Until 1978, Rahman worked in various ministries of the Government of Bangladesh and at the Prime Minister's Office.^[1] He then served in several Bangladeshi missions abroad, including in London, Tehran, Stockholm, and Moscow.^[1]

From 1996 to 2001, Rahman was the High Commissioner of Bangladesh to Singapore.^[1] He later served as Bangladesh's Ambassador to Germany until 2003.^[1] He was appointed the Ambassador of Bangladesh to China on 23 November 2003.^[1] Bangladesh recalled Rahman in 2004 for consultations to address tensions caused by Taiwan's approval to open a liaison office in Dhaka.^[3] The recall aims to clarify Bangladesh's stance and assess China's position while reaffirming its "one China" policy.^[3] Rahman served as the Ambassador of Bangladesh to China until 4 May 2007.^[1]

After retirement, Rahman became an active columnist, regularly contributing articles to various newspapers on national and international issues.^[1]

Rahman died of a heart attack on 3 March 2018 at Apollo Hospital in Dhaka, aged 70.^[1]