Kamal Hossain facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kamal Hossain
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কামাল হোসেন
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Hossain in March 2013
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| 1st Law Minister of Bangladesh | |
| In office January 1972 – March 1973 |
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| President | Abu Sayeed Chowdhury |
| Prime Minister | Sheikh Mujibur Rahman |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Manoranjan Dhar |
| Parliamentary group | Awami League |
| 3rd Foreign Minister of Bangladesh | |
| In office March 1973 – August 1975 |
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| President | Abu Sayeed Chowdhury Mohammad Mohammadullah Sheikh Mujibur Rahman |
| Prime Minister | Sheikh Mujibur Rahman |
| Preceded by | Abdus Samad Azad |
| Succeeded by | Abu Sayeed Chowdhury |
| 2nd Petroleum Minister of Bangladesh | |
| In office 1974–1975 |
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| President | Mohammad Mohammadullah Sheikh Mujibur Rahman |
| Prime Minister | Sheikh Mujibur Rahman |
| Preceded by | Mofiz Chowdhury |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 20 April 1937 Calcutta, Bengal, British India |
| Nationality | Bangladeshi |
| Political party | Gano Forum |
| Spouse |
Hameeda Hossain
(m. 1963) |
| Children | Sara Hossain, Dina Hossain |
| Alma mater |
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| Occupation | Lawyer, politician and academic |
| Known for | One of the key authors of the Constitution of Bangladesh |
Kamal Hossain (born 20 April 1937) is a famous lawyer and politician from Bangladesh. People often call him "Dr. Kamal." He is known as the "Father of the Bangladeshi Constitution" because he helped create it. He is also seen as a symbol of secular democracy in the Indian subcontinent.
Dr. Kamal Hossain studied in the United States and the United Kingdom. He became a lawyer in England in 1959. Later, he worked in the High Court of East Pakistan. He defended people who went missing during military rule. From 1961 to 1968, he taught law at Dhaka University. He was also the lawyer for the Awami League party and its leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
In 1971, he was part of the team that negotiated for power after the 1970 Pakistani general election. He was held in West Pakistan during the war of independence. This war turned East Pakistan into the independent country of Bangladesh.
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Early Life and Education
Kamal Hossain was born on 20 April 1937 in Calcutta, which was then part of British India. His family came from a well-known landowning family in Barisal. His father was one of the first Bengali Muslim doctors in Calcutta.
In 1949, his family moved to Dhaka, East Bengal. Kamal Hossain went to St. Gregory's High School there. At 16, he received a scholarship to the University of Notre Dame in the U.S. He earned a bachelor's degree in economics from Notre Dame. He then studied for a master's degree at the University of Michigan.
In 1958, Hossain moved to England. He studied at the University of Oxford and earned a law degree in 1959. He became a barrister (a type of lawyer) at Lincoln's Inn in London. He also became a lawyer in the High Court of East Pakistan. In 1964, he earned his PhD in international law from Oxford. His research was about countries' power and the United Nations.
Early Career in Pakistan (until 1971)
Kamal Hossain started his law career in 1959. He worked with famous lawyers, including former Prime Minister Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy. Pakistan was under military rule at the time. Hossain often worked on cases for people who were wrongly arrested or had gone missing.
From 1961 to 1969, he taught international law at Dhaka University. He strongly supported the six point movement, which called for more rights for East Pakistan. He was also a lawyer for Sheikh Mujibur Rahman during the Agartala Conspiracy Case. This was a case where Mujibur Rahman was accused of plotting against Pakistan.
Before Bangladesh became independent, Hossain was elected vice-chairman of the All-Pakistan Bar Council. In 1971, he was a key negotiator for the Awami League. He tried to work out a power transfer after the 1970 general election. During the war, he was imprisoned with Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in West Pakistan.
Building Bangladesh
Kamal Hossain was released on 28 December 1971. He returned to an independent Bangladesh with Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on 10 January 1972. He was then appointed as the first Law Minister of Bangladesh.
One of his most important jobs was to create a new constitution for the country. He led the committee that wrote the constitution. At 35, he was one of the youngest people in the world to help draft a constitution. The Constitution of Bangladesh was approved in November 1972. It included a list of rights and set up a parliamentary government.
Under his leadership, Bangladesh became the first country in South Asia to have a constitutionally secular state. This means the government would not favor any one religion. The constitution also mentioned "socialism," which for Bangladesh meant creating a fair society through democratic ways, similar to social democracies in Europe.
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In 1973, Hossain became the Foreign Minister of Bangladesh. He helped Bangladesh join the United Nations in 1974. He also signed the Delhi Agreement with India and Pakistan. This agreement helped improve relations between the three countries after the 1971 war.
Later, he became the Energy Minister. During the 1973 oil crisis, many countries needed to find their own oil. Hossain helped create Petrobangla, a national oil and gas company. He also wrote the Bangladesh Petroleum Act. This new law helped foreign companies explore for oil and gas in Bangladesh.
Later Political Life and Human Rights
Kamal Hossain was visiting Yugoslavia when the 1975 Bangladesh coup happened. He decided not to return to Bangladesh and moved to Oxford University for a while.
In the late 1970s, he came back to Bangladesh. In 1981, he ran for president but lost. He played a key role in bringing back parliamentary democracy in 1990.
In 1992, he left the Awami League and started his own political party called Gano Forum (People's Forum). In 1996, he helped create the system of caretaker governance. This system allows a neutral government to oversee elections, making them fairer. Other countries like Pakistan and Greece later adopted similar systems.
Hossain has often spoken out against human rights abuses. He defended journalists and activists who were arrested for criticizing the government. He also supported a chief justice who was removed from his position.
In 2018, Kamal Hossain formed a new political alliance called Jatiya Oikya Front (National Unity Front). He held rallies and met with the Prime Minister to discuss fair elections. The US Ambassador to Bangladesh praised these talks.
However, the 2018 general election faced many accusations of unfairness and intimidation. Hossain called it an "unprecedented vote robbery" and asked for a new election. He said the government did not have the people's consent. The United States and the European Union also expressed concerns about the election's fairness.
Notable Legal Work
Kamal Hossain is a leading lawyer in human rights, energy law, and international business law. He has worked on many important cases. He represented Bangladesh in lawsuits against large companies like Scimitar Exploration Ltd and Chevron. In the Chevron case, the court rejected Chevron's claim for $240 million from Bangladesh.
Role in the International Area
Kamal Hossain is well-known around the world as a legal expert. He has worked with the United Nations for a long time. From 1998 to 2003, he was a UN Special Rapporteur for Afghanistan, investigating human rights issues. He also served on the UN Compensation Commission in Geneva.
He has been involved in many international legal disputes. He advised China on energy laws when China was opening up its economy. He was also a judge for maritime disputes between countries like Malaysia and Singapore, and Guyana and Suriname.
Hossain has been a vice-chairman of the International Law Association. He is also chairman of the Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST), which helps provide legal aid. He has observed elections in other countries and advised governments on democracy and human rights.
Public Perception
Kamal Hossain is seen as a leader of liberal and secular politics in Bangladesh. He is often called the "elder statesman" or "father figure" in politics. Many describe him as the "conscience of the nation." The New York Times once compared him to Adlai Stevenson, a respected American politician known for his intelligence.
In India and Pakistan, he is admired as a secular icon. He has given speeches about building a peaceful South Asia.
Writings
Kamal Hossain has written several books. In 1979, he published a book about petroleum law. In 2013, he released his memoir, Bangladesh: Quest for Freedom and Justice. He also wrote a book in Bengali in 1994, called Svāẏattaśāsana theke svādhīnatā (Civil government and independence).
Academic Work
Hossain has taught law at several universities. He taught constitutional law and international law at Queen's College, Oxford from 1957 to 1959. He was also a research fellow at Oxford. He taught international law and constitutional law at the University of Dhaka from 1962 to 1967. In 1997, he was a visiting professor at the Free University of Amsterdam.
Personal Life
Kamal Hossain married Hameeda Hossain in 1963. They have two daughters. One of his daughters, Sara Hossain, is also a well-known civil rights lawyer in Bangladesh. His other daughter is Dina Hossain, a filmmaker.
