Morshed Alam
Bangladeshi politician (born 1950)
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Morshed Alam (born 29 March 1950) is a Bangladeshi business magnate, politician, and a former Jatiya Sangsad member representing the Noakhali-2 constituency.[1] Alam is the chairperson of the Bengal Group.[2] Alam was the chairman of Mercantile Bank Limited.[3] He is the chairperson of RTV and vice chairman of Desh General Insurance Company Limited.[4] He is a director of United Hospital Limited and the National Life Insurance Company Limited.[5] He is a trustee board member of the Peoples University of Bangladesh.[6]
Morshed Alam | |
|---|---|
মোরশেদ আলম | |
| Member of Parliament | |
| In office 29 January 2014 – 6 August 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Zainul Abdin Farroque |
| Constituency | Noakhali-2 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 29 March 1950 |
| Party | Bangladesh Awami League |
Early life
Alam was born on 29 March 1950.[7] He studied up to a Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC).[8]
Career
In 1969, Alam founded Bengal Group, one of Bangladesh's largest plastic and manufacturing groups today.[9] He started with a single injection molding machine.[10] In 1992, he received the contract to supply plastic crates for both Pepsi and Coca-Cola.[10]
Alam's company, Bengal Plastic Industries Limited, was awarded Enterprise of the Year in 2007.[2] Its turnover that year was 35$ million.[2] In April 2010, he was elected chairman of Mercantile Bank Limited.[4] He was elected vice-chairman of the bank the following year.[5]
Alam was elected a member of parliament from Noakhali-2 in 2014 as a candidate of the Awami League unopposed in an election boycotted by all major political parties.[11][8] He received a 36$ million investment from FMO (Netherlands) and the International Finance Corporation in the Bengal Group.[12]
He was reelected to parliament in 2018 from Noakhali-2 as a candidate of the Awami League.[13] He received 177,391 votes, while his nearest rival, Jainul Abedin Faruk of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, received 26,169 votes.[13] He was elected chairman of Mercantile Bank in 2019.[6] He was one of the defendants in a lawsuit over the drama Indemnity, which allegedly portrayed Ziaur Rahman, former President of Bangladesh and founder of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, negatively.[14] The drama focused on the controversial Indemnity Act and aired on various platforms, sparking protests from Bangladesh Nationalist Party supporters.[14] However, a Dhaka court dismissed the case against Morshed Alam and others, including Tarana Halim, President of Bangabandhu Sangskritik Jote and former minister, and actor Shaju Khadem.[14] He made a donation to the Prime Minister's Relief Fund in 2020 along with chairmen of other commercial banks.[15]
In 2021, Alam founded Bengal Commercial Bank led by his younger brother Jashim Uddin.[16] He was re-elected to Parliament in the 2024 general elections as a candidate of the Awami League.[17] He received 56,186 votes while his nearest rival, Ataur Rahman Bhuya Kanchi, received 52,863 votes.[17][18]
After the fall of the Sheikh Hasina led Awami League government, Alam's factory, Bengal Plastic at Zirani, was burned down along with several businesses owned by Awami League supporters.[19] He was detained by the Detective Branch led by Rezaul Karim Mallick in April 2025.[20] He was sent to jail in a case over the death of Shamim, a school student, in protests against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in July 2024.[21]