Mahmudul Hasan

Major General Mahmudul Hasan (; 1 March 1936 – 31 December 2025) was a Bangladesh Nationalist Party politician and the former home minister and five time member of parliament from Tangail-5.

Early life and education He was born on 1 March 1936 in Tangail Sadar Upazila, Tangail District, Bengal Presidency, British India (now Bangladesh). He completed his bachelor's in science in 1956. Later, he obtained an engineering degree.

Military career Mahmudul Hasan was commissioned on 13 June 1959 in the Corps of Engineers of the Pakistan Army. He reached the rank of major in the Pakistan Army. After the independence of Bangladesh, Mahmudul joined the Bangladesh Army. His first posting was as commanding officer of the 1st Engineer Battalion. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 15 May 1974. Later, he served as the commanding officer of the 3rd and 8th Engineer Battalions. On 14 May 1977, he was promoted to colonel and was appointed station commander of Dhaka Cantonment and commander of the 14th Independent Engineers Brigade. He was promoted to brigadier on 2 December 1978. On 20 August 1980, he was appointed commander, logistics area, Bangladesh Army. He was made the engineer-in-chief of the Bangladesh Army on 13 April 1982. He was promoted to major general on 10 May 1982. He served there till 6 July 1986. He retired from the Bangladesh Army as a major general. He served in the cabinet of President Hossain Mohammad Ershad as the home minister.

Political career Minister of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives He took additional charge as the minister of local government, rural development and co-operatives on 19 December 1984. During his tenure he took several initiatives for rural development. The Local Government Engineering Department was also established during his tenure, which played a vital role in the infrastructural development of the rural areas. He was elected to the Jatiya Sangsad for the first time in 1988 from Tangail-5.

Minister of Agriculture He took over as the minister of agriculture on 28 March 1988. After taking charge, he made many changes in the administration and field level of the Agriculture Department. He worked on increasing the irrigation system, supplying seeds and fertilizers for the farmers and increasing the gross food production of the country. During his tenure gross production rose to 19.5 million metric tons from 16.5 million metric tons despite the horrible floods in 1988. During this, Bangladesh became self-sufficient in food production for the first time.

Hasan was elected to parliament on 29 December 2012 from Tangail-5 in a by-election. The by-election was called after the Bangladesh Election Commission had cancelled the election of Jatiya Party MP Abul Kashem.

He was also the founder of Major General Mahmudul Hasan Ideal College, Tangail.

Death Hasan died in Dhaka on 31 December 2025 at the age of 89.