Safar Raj Hossain
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Safar Raj Hossain is a retired civil servant, former Home Affairs Secretary,[1][2] and chairman of the Police Administration Reform Commission formed by the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus.[3] He is a former director general of the office of Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.[4] He is the former secretary of the Local Government Division.[5]
Early life
Hossain completed his secondary education from Bogura Zilla School.[6] He completed his master's in physics at the University of Rajshahi in 1971.[6] He finished his law degree in 1973. He completed a masters in public administration at the Harvard University in 1981.[6]
Career
Hossain joined the Bangladesh Civil Service in 1977.[6]
Hossain was the Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Comilla District in 2001.[6] He was then appointed the Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.[6] In 2003, while serving as the Director General of the Prime Minister's Office under Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.[4]
From 14 October 2003 to 20 March 2005, Hossain was the secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration.[6] He was then appointed secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs.[6] In June 2005, he was sued in a murder case filed by the mother of a Jubo League activist who was killed in a crossfire by Rapid Action Battalion.[7]
Hossain served as the secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs till 2006.[6] He inaugurated a conference of police chiefs of SAARC countries in Dhaka in May 2006.[8] He was made the Secretary of the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives in October 2006 after President Iajuddin Ahmed formed a neutral caretaker government to hold general elections.[9] Secretary of the Local Government Division of the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives S. M. Jahirul Islam was in return made the secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs.[9] He oversaw the start of the Banani-Gulshan Bridge construction.[10]
From 2009 to 2011, Hossain was a consultant of the United States Agency for International Development.[6] In 2010, he was a director of the Dhaka Electric Supply Company Limited.[6] He is an independent director of Federal Insurance Company.[6]
After the fall of the Sheikh Hasina led Awami League government, Hossain was appointed head of a newly created Police Administration Reform Commission.[6][11] The commission included Abu Momtaz Saad Uddin Ahmed, ASM Nasiruddin Elan, Md Golam Rasul, Mohammad Harun Chowdhury, Mohammad Iqbal, Sheikh Sajjad Ali, and Shahnaz Huda.[6] One of the first recommendation was removal of political background check from the hiring process of police officers.[12]