| Abul Hasan Chowdhury | |
| Native Name: | আবুল হাসান চৌধুরী |
| Native Name Lang: | bn |
| Office: | State Minister of Foreign Affairs |
| Term Start: | 14 July 1996 |
| Term End: | 13 July 2001 |
| Successor: | Reaz Rahman |
| Constituency Mp1: | Tangail-1 |
| Parliament1: | Bangladesh |
| Term Start1: | 14 July 1996 |
| Term End1: | 13 July 2001 |
| Successor1: | Mohammad Abdur Razzaque |
| Term Start2: | 5 March 1991 |
| Term End2: | 24 November 1995 |
| Predecessor2: | Khandaker Anwarul Haque |
| Successor2: | Abdus Salam Talukder |
| Birth Date: | 15 April 1951 |
| Birth Place: | Dhaka, East Bengal, Dominion of Pakistan |
| Spouse: | Nahid Chowdhury |
| Children: | 2 |
| Alma Mater: | University of Oxford |
| Party: | Bangladesh Awami League |
| Relatives: | Abdul Hamid Chowdhury (grandfather) |
| Father: | Abu Sayeed Chowdhury |
Abul Hasan Chowdhury (born 15 April 1951; known as Kaiser) is a Bangladeshi politician. He served as the State Minister of Foreign Affairs and a Jatiya Sangsad member representing the Tangail-1 constituency for two terms.[1]
Chowdhury was born on 15 April 1951 in Dhaka, East Bengal. He belonged to a Bengali Muslim zamindar family from Nagbari in Tangail, then part of Mymensingh district. He is the eldest son of a former president of Bangladesh, Abu Sayeed Chowdhury.[2] His grandfather, Abdul Hamid Chowdhury, was a former speaker of the East Pakistan Provincial Assembly.[3]
After completing his primary and secondary education from St. Gregory’s High School in 1968, Chowdhury was admitted to the University of Oxford where he studied philosophy, politics and economics and obtained his M.A. in 1976.
Chowdhury joined the Awami League in 1990. He won his first election in 1991 from his ancestral constituency, Madhupur. He was the opposition whip and international affairs secretary of Awami league from 1991 to 1996, while the party was in opposition. After winning his second election in 1996 he served as the state minister of foreign affairs.
The World Bank pulled out the $1.2 Bn funding for the Padma bridge project on the grounds that there was conspiracy to commit corruption. Abul Hasan Chowdhury, along with a few others, were accused of using connections in order to acquire the project. The Royal Canada Mounted Police filed a case in Toronto against the accused.
In 2015, the ACC investigated the case of Padma Bridge Scandal. After the World Bank continuously pushed the government to take actions against the alleged perpetrators, after 53 days' of investigation, ACC found nobody to be guilty. On the basis of ACC's report, Dhaka district judge court acquitted all the seven government officials who were alleged to have been involved in the corruption plot. Before that, the ACC exonerated Syed Abul Hossain and Chowdhury from the allegation of involvement in the corruption conspiracy. In 2017, the Canadian court found no proof of Padma bridge conspiracy and the Ontario Superior Court acquitted all, dismissing the case.[4]
Chowdhury is married to Nahid Chowdhury.[5]