Abdullah al Mahmood

Abdullah al Mahmood (; 4 April 1900 – 13 June 1975) was a Bengali politician and lawyer who served as the central minister of industries and natural resources of Pakistan. He also served as a member of the Bengal Legislative Assembly, a member of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan, and a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan.

Early life and education Mahmood was born on 4 April 1900, in the village of Koyelgati, in present-day Sirajganj District. He attended Sirajganj B. L. High School. After passing the entrance examination, he enrolled at Carmichael College in Rangpur in 1915 and completed his intermediate of arts (IA) in 1918. He then studied at Calcutta Islamia College, from which he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Philosophy in 1920, and then completed a Master of Arts (MA) in Arabic in 1923 and a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) in 1925 from the University of Calcutta.

Career

Legal and educational career Mahmood began his career as a lawyer in 1924. He was a founding member of Sirajganj College. He also served as a member of the University of Dhaka Court from 1940 to 1951 and of its Executive Council from 1947, and was a member of the first syndicate of Rajshahi University. Contemporary and later accounts describe him as part of Muslim League politics in Bengal throughout the late 1930s and 1940s. During this period, the British colonial authorities offered him the honorary title of Khan Bahadur, however, he declined the title because of his involvement in the non-cooperation movement. In 1942 he was elected assistant secretary of the Bengal Provincial Muslim League Working Committee and became a member of the All-India Muslim League Council. He served as assistant secretary of the Bengal Provincial Muslim League from 1942 to 1948 and as president of the Pabna District Muslim League from 1942 to 1948. He was also a member of the Pabna District Board and chairman of Sirajganj Municipality from 1937 to 1949. In May 1948, he was appointed joint chief whip.

On 14 November 1948, Mahmood was appointed deputy high commissioner of Pakistan in India, and he served in that office until 1952.

Mahmood later returned to the National Assembly during the Ayub Khan era. He was elected from Pabna-III to the 3rd National Assembly of Pakistan and from Pabna-II to the 4th National Assembly of Pakistan. He retired from politics in 1969 due to old age. His daughter, Tasmina Mahmood, was a physician and the wife of M. A. Matin, who served as deputy prime minister of Bangladesh and held many other ministerial portfolios. Mahmood's grandson, M. A. Muhit, is the state minister of health and family welfare of Bangladesh.

Death and legacy Mahmood died in Sirajganj on 13 June 1975.