Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim | |
Native Name: | শেখ ফজলুল করিম সেলিম |
Native Name Lang: | bn |
Constituency Mp: | Gopalganj-2 |
Parliament: | Bangladesh |
Term Start: | 14 July 1996 |
Term End: | 6 August 2024 |
Predecessor: | Mollah Jalaluddin Ahmed |
Term Start1: | 5 March 1991 |
Term End1: | 24 November 1995 |
Successor1: | Farid Ahmed |
Term Start2: | 10 July 1986 |
Term End2: | 6 December 1987 |
Predecessor2: | Position created |
Office4: | Health and Family Welfare Ministers |
Term Start4: | 29 December 1999 |
Term End4: | 15 July 2001 |
Predecessor4: | Salahuddin Yusuf |
Successor4: | Abdul Malik |
Birth Date: | 2 February 1949 |
Birth Place: | Gopalganj, East Bengal, Dominion of Pakistan |
Nationality: | Bangladeshi |
Party: | Bangladesh Awami League |
Children: | Sheikh Fazle Fahim |
Relatives: | see Tungipara Sheikh family |
Profession: | Politician |
Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim (born 2 February 1949; known as Sheikh Selim)[1] is a Bangladeshi politician who was a 8-term Jatiya Sangsad member representing the Gopalganj-2 constituency during 1986–2024. He is a member of the standing committee of Bangladesh Awami League party.[2] [3] [4] He also served as the minister of Health and Family Welfare during 1999–2001.
Selim is the son of Sheikh Nurul Haque and Sheikh Asia Begum, sister of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, former president of Bangladesh. He is the younger brother of Sheikh Fazlul Haque Mani, founder of Jubo League.[5] He is a first-cousin of the former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.[6]
Selim is descended from the Tungipara Sheikh family from both his parents. His father's grandfather, Qudratullah Sheikh, was the brother of his mother's great-great-grandfather, Ekramullah Sheikh. Sheikh Mujib was both his uncle and nephew, being son of his third-cousin Sheikh Lutfar Rahman.[7]
Selim is the current parliamentary representative for the constituency of Gopalganj-2. He is a Presidium member of Bangladesh Awami League.[8] He has won parliamentary elections from Gopalganj-2 nine times, since 1980.[9] He served as the Minister for Health and Family Welfare in the First Sheikh Hasina Cabinet.[10] He is the Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare Ministry.[11]
On 23 April 2008, Bangladesh Anti Corruption Commission sued Selim for corruption at the Ramna Police Station. He secured bail from the High Court on 16 September 2008.[12] The High Court, in September, stayed proceeding of the case against Selim. On 24 October 2010, Supreme Court stayed the High Court order, allowing the case to proceed.[13]
In 2022, Selim was involved in a controversy involving the Film Artistes' Association election. Initially, Zayed Khan won the general secretary post, but after a legal dispute, Nipun was appointed to the position by court order. An election commissioner, under anonymity, claimed that Sheikh Selim made 17 calls exerting pressure for Nipun's victory.[14]
Selim's eldest son Sheikh Fazle Fahim served as president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce & Industries and is married to the daughter of businessman Moosa Bin Shamsher.[15] [16] Another son Sheikh Nayem is married to the daughter of BNP politician Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku.[17] One of Selim's grandsons, Zayan Chowdhary, died in the 2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings. The child's father Moshiul Haque Chowdhary was wounded, though his mother, Selim's daughter Sheikh Amina Sultana Sonia, was unharmed.[18]