Everything We Konw About New CEC Kazi Habibul Awal

The government has appointed Kazi Habibul Awal, former secretary to the Ministry of Defence, as the new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC).

The Cabinet Division published a gazette notification in this regard on Saturday (February 26).

Who is Kazi Habibul Awal?

Kazi Habibul Awal joined the Ministry of Defence as Secretary on 3 March 2014. Then he was appointed as Senior Secretary in the same Ministry on 1 December 2014. He retired on 20 January 2015.

He was then reappointed as Senior Secretary in the Ministry of Defence on 21 January 2015. He is responsible as Chief Executive Officer, for the overall administration and management of the Ministry as well as departments and organizations under the Ministry. Defence Services are the principal organizations.

Apart from those, there are many other allied inter-services and civilian organizations under the administrative control of the Ministry of Defence.

Kazi Habibul Awal was born on 21 January 1956. He received LL.B (Hons.) in 1976 and LL.M in 1978 from Dhaka University. He obtained a Certificate of Enrollment as an Advocate from Bangladesh Bar Council in 1980 and became a member of the Dhaka District Bar Association.

He appeared in the Bangladesh Civil Service (Judicial) Competitive Examination of 1981 conducted by the Public Service Commission and qualified for appointment in the judicial Service.  He joined as Munsif (Assistant Judge) in 1981.

He was regularly promoted to the next higher positions of the service and was finally promoted to the post of District and Sessions Judge in 1997. He also worked as Secretary, Bangladesh Law Commission, Chairman, Labour Court and Project Director of Bangladesh Legal and Judicial Capacity Building Project.

Kazi Habibul Awal also worked on deputation in the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs as Assistant Secretary and Deputy Secretary. He was appointed as Joint Secretary in the Legislative Drafting Wing of the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs in December 2000. He was appointed Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Law in 2004. 

Thereafter he was appointed as Secretary, Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs on 28 June 2007, and served in that position up to 17 December 2009. He was appointed as Secretary in the Ministry of Religious Affairs on 24 April 2010 and served in that position before joining the Ministry of Defence.

During his 34-year long service career, Kazi Habibul Awal attended a six month-long international training course on Legal and Legislative Drafting held in Harare, Zimbabwe in 1986 financed by the Commonwealth Secretariat, London, UK. He attended various international workshops, seminars and conferences in USA, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Pakistan, Germany, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand, Nepal, Canada, UK, Japan, France, Norway, Sweden, Ghana, South Korea, Philippines, Hong Kong.

Kazi Habibul Awal is often invited by different organisations to attend and speak as a resource person. Such organisations include National Defence College, Police Staff College, Bangladesh Public Administration Training Center (BPATC), Foreign Service Training Academy, Judicial Service Training Institute, etc.