ATM Syed Hossain is a former additional secretary of Bangladesh Government and former member of the executive council of the Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League, the one-party government of the Awami League. He was married to the sister of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the first president of Bangladesh. [1]
Hossain was born in Faridpur District and his father was Nadir Hossain. [2]
Hossain was a gazetted officer in the East Pakistan Civil Service. [3] [4] Before the independence of Bangladesh, he had the rank of a section officer in the Establishment Division, the service's personnel arm, which is responsible for appointments and transfers. [1] After independence, his career received a boost from his brother-in-law, the new president, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. [1] [5] [6] He was promoted to the rank of joint secretary in 1972. [7] [8]
In 1973, he was an additional secretary in the Bangladesh Civil Service based in the Ministry of Establishment. [9] He was a member of the Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League central committee, the Awami League led one party government. [9]
Hossain was arrested on 23 August 1975 after the Assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in the 15 August 1975 Bangladesh coup d'état along with 25 others. [2] He was removed from his office. [10] Hossain was detained for two and half years by the military regime. [11] After being released, he successfully campaigned for the release of the location of the graves of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's family members killed in the 15 August coup. [12]
Hossain married Sheikh Khadija Hossain Lily, the youngest sister of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and aunt of Sheikh Hasina. [12] [11] His son, Sadek Hossain Bablu, died on 19 December 2020. [12] His daughter, Rosy Jamal, married Sheikh Jamal, son of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. [11] [13] His second daughter, Dolly, married Engineer. Shahiduzzaman on 10 August 1975. [11] His wife died in 2014. [12]