Salahuddin Ahmed (governor)

Salehuddin Ahmed (born 1949) is a Bangladeshi economist, who has served as the adviser to the Interim government of Bangladesh from August 2024 to February 2026. He is also a former governor of the Bangladesh Bank. He was also a Professor of BRAC University.

During his tenure as finance adviser, his move to dissolve the National Board of Revenue and bring revenue management under his direct ministerial control has been criticized as executive capture of the revenue sector. Transparency International Bangladesh and the Centre for Policy Dialogue argued that Ahmed's initiative undermined the autonomy of the revenue service, weakened accountability, and reduced transparency and neutrality. They also said that the initiative ignored the recommendations of the government’s own advisory committee on revenue reform and risked weaponizing taxes and tariffs, worsening existing systemic problems and bureaucratic dysfunction.

Early life and education Ahmed was born in Mahuttuli, Old Dhaka and his family were originally from the village of Darisrirampur in Nabinagar Upazila, Brahmanbaria District. He graduated from Dhaka Collegiate School in 1963 and from Dhaka College in 1965. He completed his second masters and PhD from McMaster University in 1974 and 1978, respectively.

Ahmed was the Managing Director of Palli Karma Sahayak Foundation from 1996 to 2005.

Ahmed was the ninth governor of Bangladesh Bank. After the retirement of Fakhruddin Ahmed, he took the responsibility of Bangladesh Bank on 1 May 2005 and he took rest from his duty on 31 April 2009. As a Fulbright Scholar, he taught at Marlboro College in the State of Vermont in the United States for a year.

In 2020, Ahmed was appointed an independent director of ASA International. He is one of the founders of the Centre for Advanced Research and Social Action, non-profit. He is a member of the general committee of the NGO Forum. He was an independent director of GrameenPhone. He is an advisor to Southeast University Journal of Arts and Social Sciences of Southeast University.

Personal life Ahmed's daughter is also a faculty at North South University. His son was a faculty member at Black Hills State University and is currently a senior economist at the Virginia Department of Taxation.