Fazlul Qadir Chaudhry

A.K.M. Fazlul Quader Chowdhury (; 1919–1973) was a Bengali politician who served as the 5th speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan from East Pakistan. He belonged to Ayub Khan's Convention Muslim League. He was also the acting president of Pakistan from time to time when Ayub Khan left the country. His elder brother, Fazlul Kabir Chowdhury, was the leader of the opposition in the East Pakistan assembly. Quader was preceded by Maulvi Tamizuddin Khan of the Awami League.

Early life Chaudhury was born on 26 March 1919 to a Bengali Muslim zamindar family in Gahira, Raozan, located in the Chittagong District of the Bengal Province. His father, Khan Bahadur Abdul Jabbar Chaudhry, was a police official in the British Raj, and his mother, Begum Fatema Khatun Chaudhurani, was a housewife.

Education Chaudhry graduated from Calcutta Presidency College and earned a B.L degree from Calcutta University Law College. In 1941 he was elected general secretary of the All-India Muslim Student Federation. In 1942 he was arrested due to the Indian Security Act of 1942. He joined the All-India Muslim League and was elected the secretary of the Chittagong district unit of the party in 1943.

Career In 1947, Fazlul Qadir Chaudhry supported the United Bengal pact of Sarat Bose and Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, but when Suhrawardy agreed to form Pakistan, he failed from presenting the matter to Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

Chaudhury was elected member of the Pakistan National Assembly in 1962. In Ayub Khan's cabinet he served in the Ministry of Agriculture and Works, the Ministry of Education and Information and the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare. He played an important role in floating the Convention Muslim League (1962) and was elected a member of the central committee of the party. Chittagong University of Engineering & Technology, Chittagong Medical College, Chittagong Marine Academy, Chittagong Marine Fisheries and the Polytechnic Institute.

Extended family The family of Fazlul Qadir Chaudhry (FQC) is one of the most prominent and interconnected Muslim families of Bengal. Kafi Kamal, a senior reporter with the Manab Zamin, details the extent of FQC's relations in his book Attiyotar Bondhone Rajneeti (Kinship Politics).

FQC's eldest son, Salahuddin, was married to Farhat Quader Chowdhury. Farhat is the daughter of Alamgir Mohammad Adel (brother of Jahangir Mohammad Adel) and Laili Chowdhury (daughter of Lal Mia and niece of Mohan Mia, zamindars of Faridpur). Salahuddin and Farhat's son, Hummam, is married to the granddaughter of industrialist A. K. Khan. FQC's second son, Saifuddin, is married to the paternal granddaughter of Muslim League leader Abul Hashim. Marxist–Leninist theorist Badruddin Umar is Saifuddin's uncle-in-law. FQC's third son, Giasuddin, is married to the daughter of former Cabinet Secretary of Bangladesh and language movement activist Mujibul Huq. FQC's daughter, Hasina, is married to the younger brother of former BNP minister Mizanur Rahman Sinha.

His brother, AKM Fazlul Kabir Chowdhury, was the leader of the opposition in the East Pakistan Legislative Assembly. His son, Advocate ABM Fazle Rashid Chowdhury, was married to former member of parliament and Jatiya Party presidium member Professor Masuda M Rashid Chowdhury. His other son, A.B.M. Fazle Karim Chowdhury, is an Awami League politician and the current member of parliament for Raozan upazila.

FQC's sister was married to industrialist Hedayat Hossain Chowdhury, founder of Karnaphuli Group and HRC Group. His son, Saber Hossain Chowdhury, is an Awami League politician and the current member of parliament for Dhaka-9.

FQC's second cousin was Awami League politician A. B. M. Mohiuddin Chowdhury, a former mayor of Chittagong. Mohiuddin's paternal grandfather, Munawer Ali Chowdhury, was the elder brother of FQC's paternal grandfather, Iqbal Ali Chowdhury (both sons of Bakshe Elahi Chowdhury).

His wife's elder sister, Syeda Roqeya Akhtar, was married to former finance minister Murtaza Raza Choudhry, zamindar of Monakosha. Their son, Mainur Reza Chowdhury, was the 12th Chief Justice of Bangladesh. FQC's other sister-in-law was Syeda Fatina Rahman, wife of Muslim League leader Fazlur Rahman. Their son, Salman F Rahman, is the vice-chairman of Beximco Group and an advisor to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Arrest and death In 1973, after the independence of Bangladesh (former East Pakistan), he was jailed in Bangladesh for war crimes as a collaborator of the Pakistan Army in 1971. He died in Dhaka Central Jail on 17 July 1973.