Chief Adviser (Bangladesh) Explained

Post:	Chief Adviser of the People's Republic of Bangladesh
Native Name:	গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশের প্রধান উপদেষ্টা
Flag:	Flag of the Chief Adviser of Bangladesh.svg
Flagsize:	165px
Flagcaption:	Standard of the Chief Adviser
Insignia:	Seal of the Chief Adviser of Bangladesh.svg
Insigniasize:	120px
Insigniacaption:	Seal of the Chief Adviser
Incumbent:	Muhammad Yunus
Incumbentsince:	8 August 2024
Type:	Head of Government
Status:	Leader of the Executive
Style:	Chief Adviser (informal) The Honorable (formal) His Excellency (diplomatic)
Residence:	State Guest House Jamuna
Appointer:	President of Bangladesh
Termlength:	until the next general election is held and a new Prime Minister takes office
Precursor:	Prime Minister of Bangladesh
Inaugural:	Muhammad Habibur Rahman
Constituting Instrument:	Constitution of Bangladesh
Salary:	per month (incl. allowances)
Website:	cao.gov.bd

The chief adviser of Bangladesh, officially Chief Adviser of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is the chief executive of the abolished caretaker and the interim government of Bangladesh, who serves as the head of government during the transition period between one elected government and another. With powers roughly equivalent to those of the Prime Minister of an elected government, their executive power is limited by the constitution. The Chief Adviser leads an advisory committee comprising several advisers (equivalent to a minister), all of them selected from among politically neutral individuals to be acceptable to all major political parties.^[1] The office of the Chief Adviser is called Chief Adviser's Office.

History

The caretaker government system of Bangladesh was introduced in March 1996 through the passage of the 13th amendment to the constitution. The system was formed to hold parliamentary elections after the election in February conducted by the Khaleda Zia government was widely boycotted by the opposition parties. The amendment recommended making the last retired chief justice the chief adviser.^[2] In 1996, Justice Muhammad Habibur Rahman was appointed the chief adviser of the caretaker government. Along with the President of Bangladesh, Abdur Rahman Biswas, prevented the 1996 Bangladesh coup d'état attempt. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party had some difficult appointing a Chief adviser to the caretaker government which led to the 2006–08 Bangladeshi political crisis.^[3] The Bangladesh Nationalist Party appointed President Iajuddin Ahmed the chief adviser to the caretaker government, but he faced demands for resignation from Bangladesh Awami League.^[4] Iajuddin Ahmed was replaced by Fakhruddin Ahmed. During the crisis, the military-backed caretaker government was led by Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed.^[5] Fakhruddin Ahmed appointed three special assistants to himself who were given the rank of a state minister. The assistants were Barrister Debashis Roy, Brigadier General M. A. Malek, and Professor M Tamim.^[6] There was some debate about the constitutional validity of the assistant to the chief advisers.

The caretaker government system was scrapped along with the 13th amendment in 2011 through the passage of the 15th amendment of the constitution to allow the elected government to conduct any general election in the future, with the Chief Justice of Bangladesh, A.B.M. Khairul Haque, declaring the caretaker government system illegal and unconstitutional.

The office was restored in 2024 under the extra-constitutional setup of an interim government, following the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.^[7]

Composition of the non-party caretaker government

1. Non-Party Care-Taker Government shall consist of the Chief Adviser at its head and ten or fewer other Advisers, all of whom shall be appointed by the President.^[8]
2. The Chief Adviser and other Advisers shall be appointed within fifteen days after Parliament is dissolved or stands dissolved, and during the period between the date on which Parliament is dissolved or stands dissolved and the date on which the Chief Adviser is appointed, the Prime Minister and his cabinet who were in office immediately before Jatiya Sangsad (Parliament) was dissolved or stood dissolved shall continue to hold office as such.
3. The President shall appoint as Chief Adviser the person who among the retired Chief Justice of Bangladesh retired last and who is qualified to be appointed as an Adviser under this article: Provided that if such retired Chief Justice is not available or is not willing to hold the office of Chief Adviser, the President shall appoint as Chief Adviser the person who among the retired Chief Justice of Bangladesh retired next before the last retired Chief Justice.
4. If no retired Chief Justice is available or willing to hold the office of Chief Adviser, the President shall appoint as Chief Adviser the person who among the retired Judges of the Appellate Division retired last and who is qualified to be appointed as an Adviser under this article: Provided that if such retired Judge is not available or is not willing to hold the office of Chief Adviser, the President shall appoint as Chief Adviser the person who among the retired Judges of the Appellate Division retired next before the last such retired Judge.
5. If no retired judge of the Appellate Division is available or willing to hold the office of Chief Adviser, the President shall, after consultation, as far as practicable, with the major political parties, appoint the Chief Adviser from among citizens of Bangladesh who are qualified to be appointed as Advisers under this article.
6. Notwithstanding anything contained in this chapter, if the provisions of clauses (3), (4) and (5) cannot be given effect to, the President shall assume the functions of the Chief Adviser of the Non-Party Care-taker Government in addition to his own functions under this Constitution.
7. The President shall appoint Advisers from among the persons who are
   1. qualified for election as members of parliament;
   2. not members of any political party or of any organisation associated with or affiliated to any political party;
   3. not, and have agreed in writing not to be, candidates for the ensuing election of members of parliament;
   4. not over seventy-two years of age.
8. The Advisers shall be appointed by the President on the advice of the Chief Adviser.
9. The Chief Adviser or an Adviser may resign his office by writing under his hand addressed to the President.
10. The Chief Adviser or an Adviser shall cease to be Chief Adviser or Adviser if he is disqualified to be appointed as such under this article.
11. The Chief Adviser shall have the status, and shall be entitled to the remuneration and privileges, of a Prime Minister and an Adviser shall have the status, and shall be entitled to the remuneration and privileges, of a Minister.
12. The Non-Party Care-taker Government shall stand dissolved on the date on which the Prime Minister enters upon his office after the constitution of the new parliament.

List of chief advisers of Bangladesh

There has been 6 Chief Advisors of Bangladesh so far.^[9]

	Name (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Entered office	Left office	Tenure
Caretaker government of Bangladesh
1	Muhammad Habibur Rahman^[10] (1928–2014)		30 March 1996	23 June 1996
2	Latifur Rahman (1936–2017)		15 July 2001	10 October 2001
3	Iajuddin Ahmed (1931–2012) President		29 October 2006	11 January 2007
–	Fazlul Haque (1938–2023) Acting		11 January 2007	12 January 2007
4	Fakhruddin Ahmed^[11] (1940–)		12 January 2007	6 January 2009
Interim government of Bangladesh
5	Muhammad Yunus^[12] (1940–)		8 August 2024	Incumbent

External links

• • official website of Chief Adviser office
• cao.gov.bd Archive
• Khairul Haque made CJ https://web.archive.org/web/20101001175520/http://www.newagebd.com/2010/sep/27/front.html#10#10

Notes and References

1. News: Should Justice Hasan express embarrassment?. Molla. MAS. The Daily Star. https://web.archive.org/web/20230129062550/https://archive.thedailystar.net/2006/10/23/d610231502113.htm. 29 January 2023. 9 January 2018. dead.
2. News: 'Cancel system of appointing last retired CJ as chief adviser'. 28 September 2010. The Daily Star. https://web.archive.org/web/20240822231852/http://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-156234 . 9 January 2018 . 22 August 2024 . en.
3. News: Chief adviser from ex-chief justices. 9 August 2012. The Daily Star. 9 January 2018. en.
4. News: Iajuddin must quit now as chief adviser. 12 December 2006. The Daily Star. https://web.archive.org/web/20211125153402/http://archive.thedailystar.net/2006/12/12/d6121201096.htm. 25 November 2021. 9 January 2018. dead.
5. News: Advisers acted differently. 17 September 2011. The Daily Star. 9 January 2018. en.
6. News: 3 special assistants to CA appointed. 11 January 2008. The Daily Star. 9 January 2018. en.
7. News: Interim govt: What the law says . . 7 August 2024.
8. News: Legal position of special assistants to the chief adviser. 16 January 2008. The Daily Star. 9 January 2018. en.
9. Web site: A look back at caretaker governments throughout the years . 8 August 2024 .
10. News: Non-party caretaker. 22 October 2013. The Daily Star. 9 January 2018. en.
11. News: The chief adviser's education promises. 2008-03-09. The Daily Star. 2018-01-09. en.
12. Web site: Muhammad Yunus takes oath as head of Bangladesh's interim government . Aljazeera English. 8 August 2024.