Shahabuddin Chuppu takes oath as Bangladesh’s 22nd President

On April 24, 2023, veteran politician Mohammed and former judge Shahabuddin Chuppu was sworn in as the 22nd President of Bangladesh at a state ceremony attended by Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her cabinet colleagues.

The event occurred at the historic Durbar Hall of Bangabhaban in Dhaka, where speaker Shirin Sherman administered the oath to the 73-year-old Shahabuddin.

Apart from Sheikh Hasina and the family members of the new President, politicians, Supreme Court judges and civil and military officials attended the event.

Shahabuddin Chuppu succeeds Abdul Hamid, whose tenure ended on April 23, 2023. Post the swear-in ceremony, Shahabuddin signed the oath documents for the president’s office. He was elected president unopposed in February 2023 as a candidate of the ruling Awami League.

After assuming office, Shahabuddin Chuppu said he would review the political situation and assess if he needed to play any role in minimising disputes between political parties.

In an interview last week, Shahabuddin said that it is the responsibility of the Election Commission to create an atmosphere to encourage voters to cast their vote and expected the independent constitutional body to play its dual role.

Bangladesh is geared up for elections in December or January next year amid the difference between the ruling Awami League and its main opposition Bangladesh National Party.

Shahabuddin was born in 1949, hails from the northwestern Pabna District, and served as one of the commissioners of the independent Anti-Corruption Commission.

He later joined politics and became a member of the Awami League Advisory Council, which comprises senior party leaders and technocrats. Still, his election to the highest office would require him to relinquish the party post.

In his early life, Shahabuddin was a member of the Awami Student and Youth wings and participated in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.

After the assassination of the former President of Bangladesh, an active leader in the Bangladesh Freedom Struggle Sheikh Mujhibur Rahman also known as Bangabandhu, Shahabuddin Chuppu was imprisoned. Later in 1982, Chuppu joined the judicial services of the country.

His wife, Rebeka Sultana, is the former joint secretary of the government. The couple has one son.