Sajeeb Wazed
Encyclopedia
Sajeeb Ahmed Wazed (born July 27, 1971), also known as Sajeeb Wazed Joy, is an IT professional who was selected by World Economic Forum
as one of the 250 Young Global Leaders of the World. He is the son of Sheikh Hasina Wazed, the current Prime Minister of Bangladesh
and the grandson of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
, the first President of Bangladesh
.
to the eminent Bengali
nuclear scientist Dr. M. A. Wazed Miah
and Sheikh Hasina Wazed. His birth during the war and subsequent victory of the Bengalis earned him the nickname given by his maternal grandfather, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
, "Joy" which in Bengali means victory.
Wazed was schooled in India. His early days were spent at boarding in St. Joseph’s College
Nainital, and later at Kodaikanal International School
in Palani Hills, Tamil Nadu
. He pursued a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science, physics and mathematics from Bangalore University
. Wazed then pursued another bachelor of science degree in computer engineering at the University of Texas, Arlington
in the United States. Subsequently, Wazed attended the Kennedy School of Government in Harvard University
, where he completed a Masters in Public Administration.
amid speculations that he would be taking up the Sheikh family's political mantle. He and his wife received a rousing reception as they landed in Shahjalal International Airport. Thousands of people lined Dhaka
's roads to have glimpse of Joy and his wife. During the visit he rejected a letter sent by Tarique Rahman, son of the then Prime Minister and his mother's arch rival, Khaleda Zia
. The letter congratulated Sajeeb's possible entry into politics.
In 2007, Wazed was selected by the World Economic Forum
in Davos
as one of the "250 Young Global Leaders of the World". The forum cited his role as Advisor to the President of the Bangladesh Awami League
.
During the 2006–2008 Bangladeshi political crisis
and Minus Two controversy, both Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia were arrested by the military backed interim government on charges of corruption and "anti-state" activities. Hasina maintained that the charges were baseless and her detention was part of efforts by the military to keep her out of the political arena in order to pave the way for another period of quasi-military rule in Bangladesh. Sajeeb Wazed began campaigning in the United States and Europe for the release of his mother and other detained high-profile politicians. Hasina was eventually released in June 2008. She subsequently traveled to the United States for medical treatment.
In December 2008, Bangladesh held national elections that saw Sheikh Hasina's Awami League and its coalition partners secure the biggest parliamentary majority since 1973, capturing 262 seats in the 300 seat parliament, 230 of which went to the Awami League. Sheikh Hasina
was sworn in as the 14th Prime Minister of Bangladesh
on 6 January 2009. Prior to the elections, Wazed wrote an article in the Harvard International Review
in which he outlined a "secular plan" to stem the rise of Islamic extremism in Bangladesh.
Wazed gave an interview to the BBC
in February, 2009 in the aftermath of the violent Bangladesh Rifles mutiny
. Asked about security threats faced by his mother from tension provoked in the military by the mutiny and whether certain quarters were trying to stage a scenario similar to that of his grandfather's assassination in 1975 during a coup by junior army officers, Wazed commented that there was a "distinct possibility" of such a situation being intended. He also stressed that security was beefed up at the Prime Minister's residence and went on to praise his mother's handling of the mutiny. "This is probably the biggest incident Bangladesh has had since 1975 and our government and the prime minister has handled this compassionately, pragmatically but decisively to bring the situation under control" he said.
district unit of the party. Awami League Joint General Secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif handed over Wazed's membership form to district party leaders. Rangpur is the ancestral home district of his father Wazed Miah.
The move by Wazed to formally join the Awami League was welcomed by many political leaders and commentators, including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party
. Senior BNP leader Nazrul Islam Khan gave his party's official reaction, stating "we see the matter positively".
industry in Bangladesh and initiate e-governance
and IT education on a mass scale. Wazed emphasized the use of information technology to achieve Bangladesh's development goals. He also noted that the Digital Bangladesh "scheme" would contribute to a more transparent system of government through e-governance, as it would greatly reduce massive bureaucratic corruption in Bangladesh. He also spoke of Bangladesh's potential to become an IT outsourcing hub in the next few years given its various advantages in a growing young educated population with a "neutral" English accent. Wazed stated that by the 2021, the IT industry can overtake textiles and readymade garments as the principal foreign exchange earner for Bangladesh.
newspaper carried a report alleging Wazed received $2 million from the US energy multinational Chevron
in exchange for influencing a government contract to install a gas compressor at a gas field in eastern Bangladesh. The Awami League dismissed the allegations by accusing Amar Desh of bias towards the opposition BNP
, as the editor of the newspaper was a senior official in the previous BNP government, who was in charge of the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources.
- Digital Bangladesh: Plan of Connecting People
World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum is a Swiss non-profit foundation, based in Cologny, Geneva, best known for its annual meeting in Davos, a mountain resort in Graubünden, in the eastern Alps region of Switzerland....
as one of the 250 Young Global Leaders of the World. He is the son of Sheikh Hasina Wazed, the current Prime Minister of Bangladesh
Prime Minister of Bangladesh
The Prime Minister of the People's Republic of Bangladesh is the Head of the Government of Bangladesh. The Prime Minister and the Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Jatiya Sangsad Parliament, to their political party and ultimately to the electorate...
and the grandson of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was a Bengali nationalist politician and the founder of Bangladesh. He headed the Awami League, served as the first President of Bangladesh and later became its Prime Minister. He headed the Awami League, served as the first President of Bangladesh and later became its...
, the first President of Bangladesh
President of Bangladesh
Since 1991, the President of Bangladesh is the head of state, a largely ceremonial post elected by the parliament. Since 1996, the President's role becomes more important after the term of the government has finished, when his executive authority is enhanced as laid down in the constitution of the...
.
Early life and education
Sajeeb Wazed was born in 1971 during the Bangladesh Liberation WarBangladesh Liberation War
The Bangladesh Liberation War was an armed conflict pitting East Pakistan and India against West Pakistan. The war resulted in the secession of East Pakistan, which became the independent nation of Bangladesh....
to the eminent Bengali
Bengali people
The Bengali people are an ethnic community native to the historic region of Bengal in South Asia. They speak Bengali , which is an Indo-Aryan language of the eastern Indian subcontinent, evolved from the Magadhi Prakrit and Sanskrit languages. In their native language, they are referred to as বাঙালী...
nuclear scientist Dr. M. A. Wazed Miah
M. A. Wazed Miah
Dr. M. A. Wazed Miah was a reputed Bangladeshi nuclear scientist, the writer of a number of well-known texts in physics and some political history books, a former Chairman of the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission and husband of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina....
and Sheikh Hasina Wazed. His birth during the war and subsequent victory of the Bengalis earned him the nickname given by his maternal grandfather, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was a Bengali nationalist politician and the founder of Bangladesh. He headed the Awami League, served as the first President of Bangladesh and later became its Prime Minister. He headed the Awami League, served as the first President of Bangladesh and later became its...
, "Joy" which in Bengali means victory.
Wazed was schooled in India. His early days were spent at boarding in St. Joseph’s College
St Joseph's College, Nainital
St Joseph's College Nainital is a day boarding and residential school in Nainital, Uttarakhand, India providing public school education. Starting from 2010 academic session, the school will also accept girls for day boarding, for classes 11 and 12.-Overview:...
Nainital, and later at Kodaikanal International School
Kodaikanal International School
Kodaikanal International School is a co-educational independent residential school offering education for grades P-12. It is located on in Kodaikanal, Dindigul, Tamil Nadu, South India. Kodaikanal is a hill station at in the Palani Hills, north-west of Madurai.Early alumni of KIS include US...
in Palani Hills, Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
. He pursued a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science, physics and mathematics from Bangalore University
Bangalore University
Bangalore University is a public university located in Bangalore, Karnataka State, India. The university is one of the oldest in India, dating back to 1886...
. Wazed then pursued another bachelor of science degree in computer engineering at the University of Texas, Arlington
University of Texas at Arlington
The University of Texas at Arlington is a public research university located in Arlington, Texas, United States. The campus is situated southwest of downtown Arlington, and is located in the Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area. The university was founded in 1895 and served primarily a military...
in the United States. Subsequently, Wazed attended the Kennedy School of Government in Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, where he completed a Masters in Public Administration.
Politics
In 2004, Sajeeb Wazed visited BangladeshBangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
amid speculations that he would be taking up the Sheikh family's political mantle. He and his wife received a rousing reception as they landed in Shahjalal International Airport. Thousands of people lined Dhaka
Dhaka
Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka Division. Dhaka is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, had a population of over 15 million in 2010, making it the largest city...
's roads to have glimpse of Joy and his wife. During the visit he rejected a letter sent by Tarique Rahman, son of the then Prime Minister and his mother's arch rival, Khaleda Zia
Khaleda Zia
Begum Khaleda Zia is the former First Lady of Bangladesh , and then Prime Minister of Bangladesh, having served from 1991 to 1996, becoming the first woman in the country's history and second in the Muslim world to head a democratic government as prime minister. She served again from 2001 until...
. The letter congratulated Sajeeb's possible entry into politics.
In 2007, Wazed was selected by the World Economic Forum
World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum is a Swiss non-profit foundation, based in Cologny, Geneva, best known for its annual meeting in Davos, a mountain resort in Graubünden, in the eastern Alps region of Switzerland....
in Davos
Davos
Davos is a municipality in the district of Prättigau/Davos in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It has a permanent population of 11,248 . Davos is located on the Landwasser River, in the Swiss Alps, between the Plessur and Albula Range...
as one of the "250 Young Global Leaders of the World". The forum cited his role as Advisor to the President of the Bangladesh Awami League
Bangladesh Awami League
The Bangladesh Awami League , commonly known as the Awami League, is the mainstream center-left, secular political party in Bangladesh...
.
During the 2006–2008 Bangladeshi political crisis
2006–2008 Bangladeshi political crisis
The 2006–2008 Bangladeshi political crisis began in October 2006 when a caretaker government — designated by the constitution to oversee the vote — assumed power without exhausting the provisions of selection of Chief of Caretaker government at the end of October. Its purpose was to steer the...
and Minus Two controversy, both Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia were arrested by the military backed interim government on charges of corruption and "anti-state" activities. Hasina maintained that the charges were baseless and her detention was part of efforts by the military to keep her out of the political arena in order to pave the way for another period of quasi-military rule in Bangladesh. Sajeeb Wazed began campaigning in the United States and Europe for the release of his mother and other detained high-profile politicians. Hasina was eventually released in June 2008. She subsequently traveled to the United States for medical treatment.
In December 2008, Bangladesh held national elections that saw Sheikh Hasina's Awami League and its coalition partners secure the biggest parliamentary majority since 1973, capturing 262 seats in the 300 seat parliament, 230 of which went to the Awami League. Sheikh Hasina
Sheikh Hasina
Sheikh Hasina is a Bangladeshi politician and current Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She has been the President of the Awami League, a major political party, since 1981. She is the eldest of five children of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangladesh and widow of a reputed nuclear...
was sworn in as the 14th Prime Minister of Bangladesh
Prime Minister of Bangladesh
The Prime Minister of the People's Republic of Bangladesh is the Head of the Government of Bangladesh. The Prime Minister and the Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Jatiya Sangsad Parliament, to their political party and ultimately to the electorate...
on 6 January 2009. Prior to the elections, Wazed wrote an article in the Harvard International Review
Harvard International Review
The Harvard International Review is a quarterly journal of international relations published by the Harvard International Relations Council...
in which he outlined a "secular plan" to stem the rise of Islamic extremism in Bangladesh.
Wazed gave an interview to the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
in February, 2009 in the aftermath of the violent Bangladesh Rifles mutiny
2009 Bangladesh Rifles revolt
The 2009 Bangladesh Rifles revolt was a mutiny staged on 25 and 26 February 2009 in Dhaka by a section of the Bangladesh Rifles , a Bangladeshi paramilitary force mainly associated with guarding the borders of the country. The headquarters of the Bangladesh Rifles is situated in Pilkhana...
. Asked about security threats faced by his mother from tension provoked in the military by the mutiny and whether certain quarters were trying to stage a scenario similar to that of his grandfather's assassination in 1975 during a coup by junior army officers, Wazed commented that there was a "distinct possibility" of such a situation being intended. He also stressed that security was beefed up at the Prime Minister's residence and went on to praise his mother's handling of the mutiny. "This is probably the biggest incident Bangladesh has had since 1975 and our government and the prime minister has handled this compassionately, pragmatically but decisively to bring the situation under control" he said.
Primary membership
On 25 February 2009, Wazed officially joined the Awami League as a primary member of the RangpurRangpur District
The district of Rangpur have 4924 mosques, 480 temples, 43 churches and six tombs.In an anthropologic view most people of Rangpur are having Rajbagshi blood in their veins...
district unit of the party. Awami League Joint General Secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif handed over Wazed's membership form to district party leaders. Rangpur is the ancestral home district of his father Wazed Miah.
The move by Wazed to formally join the Awami League was welcomed by many political leaders and commentators, including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party
Bangladesh Nationalist Party
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party , commonly referred to as the BNP, is the mainstream center-right political party in Bangladesh. BNP ruled Bangladesh total 18 years since her independence, the longest than any other party in Bangladesh...
. Senior BNP leader Nazrul Islam Khan gave his party's official reaction, stating "we see the matter positively".
Digital Bangladesh
Within days of joining the Awami League as a primary member, Wazed, in his capacity as an IT policy analyst, unveiled the concept paper and action plan for the government's ambitious "Digital Bangladesh" scheme; to develop a strong ICTInformation and communication technologies
Information and communications technology or information and communication technology, usually abbreviated as ICT, is often used as an extended synonym for information technology , but is usually a more general term that stresses the role of unified communications and the integration of...
industry in Bangladesh and initiate e-governance
E-Governance
Several dimension and related factors influence the definition of eGovernance. The word “electronic” in the term e-Governance implies technology driven governance...
and IT education on a mass scale. Wazed emphasized the use of information technology to achieve Bangladesh's development goals. He also noted that the Digital Bangladesh "scheme" would contribute to a more transparent system of government through e-governance, as it would greatly reduce massive bureaucratic corruption in Bangladesh. He also spoke of Bangladesh's potential to become an IT outsourcing hub in the next few years given its various advantages in a growing young educated population with a "neutral" English accent. Wazed stated that by the 2021, the IT industry can overtake textiles and readymade garments as the principal foreign exchange earner for Bangladesh.
Corruption Allegations
In March 2010, the Amar DeshAmar Desh
Amar Desh is a major daily newspaper in Bangladesh, published from Dhaka in the Bengali language. Amardesh provides Bangladesh and International news as well as local and regional perspectives....
newspaper carried a report alleging Wazed received $2 million from the US energy multinational Chevron
Chevron Corporation
Chevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporation headquartered in San Ramon, California, United States and active in more than 180 countries. It is engaged in every aspect of the oil, gas, and geothermal energy industries, including exploration and production; refining,...
in exchange for influencing a government contract to install a gas compressor at a gas field in eastern Bangladesh. The Awami League dismissed the allegations by accusing Amar Desh of bias towards the opposition BNP
BNP
-Politics:*Bahujana Nidahas Peramuna, a Sri Lankan political party*Balochistan National Party, a Pakistani political party*Bangladesh Nationalist Party, a Bangladeshi political party*Barbados National Party, a defunct political party in Barbados...
, as the editor of the newspaper was a senior official in the previous BNP government, who was in charge of the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources.
See also
Video- Digital Bangladesh: Plan of Connecting People
- Sheikh HasinaSheikh HasinaSheikh Hasina is a Bangladeshi politician and current Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She has been the President of the Awami League, a major political party, since 1981. She is the eldest of five children of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangladesh and widow of a reputed nuclear...
- Sheikh Mujibur RahmanSheikh Mujibur RahmanSheikh Mujibur Rahman was a Bengali nationalist politician and the founder of Bangladesh. He headed the Awami League, served as the first President of Bangladesh and later became its Prime Minister. He headed the Awami League, served as the first President of Bangladesh and later became its...
- Awami League
- Bangladeshi Political FamiliesBangladeshi political familiesThis is a listing of political families in Bangladesh. The families listed here have been involved in different periods of political life in Bangladesh's history, from the pre-partition days during British rule to the present-day politics of Bangladesh....