Tofail Ahmed

Tofail Ahmed (1 March 1954 – 8 October 2025) was a Bangladeshi academic and local governance expert. He was the chairman of the Local Government Reform Commission. He was a professor and head of the department of public administration at the University of Chittagong. He was the chairperson of the Knowledge and Action Network Worldwide (Knowledge Trust).

Early life Ahmed was born on 1 March 1954 in Fatehpur of Hathazari in Chittagong District in the then East Bengal. He completed his SSC and HSC at the Fatehabad High School and Chittagong College respectively. He completed his bachelor's degree and master's degree in politics and administration at the University of Chittagong in 1976 and 1977 respectively. From 1994 to 2007, he worked at the University of Chittagong. Ahmed was an advisor on Local Governance for the United Nations Development Programme from 2009 to 2014. In 2022, Ahmed's name was suggested for the post of commissioner of the Bangladesh Election Commission. In October 2023, he called on political parties to hold dialogue to avoid conflict at an event of Shushashoner Jonno Nagorik.

After the fall of the Sheikh Hasina–led Awami League government, the Muhammad Yunus–led interim government made Ahmed a member of the newly created Electoral System Reform Commission in October 2024. He was appointed chairman of the Local Government Reform Commission.