NEW SLATE OF CARETAKER ADVISORS NAMED

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DHAKA 000087 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/17/2012 TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM KDEM BG SUBJECT: NEW SLATE OF CARETAKER ADVISORS NAMED Classified By: Amb. Patricia A. Butenis for reasons 1.4(d) ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. Ten advisors for the new Caretaker Government have been selected and are in the process of taking office. With a few exceptions, the advisors are viewed as non-partisan and distinguished members of society. END SUMMARY A New Team of Advisors ====================== ¶2. (SBU) Five new advisors were sworn in by President Ahmed on January 13: A) Barrister Moinul Hossain: A well-known lawyer and journalist, Hossain is chairman of the Board of Editors of the respected daily Bangla-language newspaper Ittefaq. In the 1970s, he served as an Awami League (AL) member of parliament, then broke with the party and later served as a legal advisor for the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). In the 1990s, he left the BNP, and is now viewed as a non-partisan columnist and writer. He will oversee the Justice, Housing, Land, and Information ministries and the Parliamentary Secretariat. He made headlines when he declared shortly after being sworn in that President Ahmed's self-appointment as Chief Adviser was unconstitutional. B) Barrister AM Mirza Azizul Islam: Islam served with the new Chief Advisor in the Pakistani civil service, prior to Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan in 1971. He has a PhD in Economics from Boston University, and worked for the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok until returning to Dhaka to head the Securities and Exchange Commission. Upon retiring, he served as Chairman of Sonali Bank. He resigned that position over an issue related to pressure to grant a loan to President Iajuddin's son. Islam will oversee the Finance, Planning, Commerce, and Post and Telecommunications ministries. C) Geetiara Safiya Chowdhury: Chowdhury is a well-known, successful female entrepreneur and head of ADCOM, a leading Bangladeshi marketing firm. She was the first female president of the Dhaka Club and is the wife of Nazim Chowdhury, a BNP dissident who helped develop the idea for the Four-Party Alliance in 2001. She is also the Chief Advisor's cousin. Chowdhury will oversee the Social Welfare, Industry, and Women's and Children's ministries. D) Tapan Chowdhury: Chowdhury is Managing Director of Square Group, ONE of Bangladesh's largest conglomerates. He is from the Christian minority, and will oversee the Power and Energy, Food and Disaster Management, Science, and Youth and Sports ministries. Within days of taking up his new position, Tapan demoted a senior civil servant in the Power Ministry who shot up the promotion ladder with the alleged support of corrupt elements in the previous government, warned the country of a looming power crisis, and called for the introduction of photo voter identification cards, even if that means delaying the election. E) Maj. Gen. (ret.) MA Matin: Matin is a hero of the Liberation War and was a confidant of the late President and BNP founder Ziaur Rahman. He is a former Director General of the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) and also headed the old and discredited Bureau of Anti-Corruption. He will oversee the Communications, Shipping, Civil Aviation and Tourism, and Liberation War Affairs ministries. ¶3. (SBU) Three more advisors were sworn in on January 16: A) Anwarul Iqbal: Iqbal was the first Director General of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) before becoming Inspector General of Police. He also served as Commissioner of the Khulna and Dhaka metropolitan police forces and was chief of the Police's Special Branch and Criminal Division Department. He served as Police Commissioner in United Nations missions in Angola and Mozambique. Iqbal will oversee the Local Government and Rural Development, and Expatriate Welfare ministries. B) Major General (ret.) Matiur Rahman: Rahman was a physician with the Bangladeshi army, and will oversee the Health, Water, and Religious Affairs ministries. C) Ayub Quaderi: Quaderi started his career in the Pakistani civil service, and has served as a secretary in several DHAKA 00000087 002 OF 002 government offices, including the Ministry of Planning and the Economic Relations Division. He will oversee the Education and Cultural Affairs ministries. ¶4. (C) Two additional advisors have been named, but not yet sworn in because they were out of the country: A) Dr. Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury: A career diplomat, Dr. Chowdhury is currently serving as Bangladesh's Permanent Representative to the United Nations. He is also the Chief Advisor's brother-in-law. He is expected to oversee the Foreign Ministry, a job that has traditionally been retained by the Chief Advisor. B) Faiz Khan: Khan is an information technology consultant and worked as a senior consultant to the Home Ministry on a now-stalled program to introduce machine-readable passports. His appointment has generated controversy in the Bangladeshi media, which has reported allegations that he was involved in the failure of the project. The press also reports that he is a U.S. citizen, which would normally preclude him, under the constitution, from serving as an advisor. His wife is an employee of the British High Commission. ¶5. (SBU) Chief Advisor Fakhruddin Ahmed will retain control of the Establishment and Home ministries and the Election Commission. COMMENT: A Non-Partisan Group ============================= ¶6. (C) These new advisors are widely viewed as non-partisan. Several are closely connected -- either from their time in the the Pakistani civil service or through marriage -- to the Chief Advisor. The only ONE who has created any controversy so far is Khan, and it remains to be seen if the negative press he has generated will prompt a rethink before he is sworn in. END COMMENT. BUTENIS