Abul Fateh
Encyclopedia
Abul Fateh was a Bangladesh
i diplomat
, statesman
and Sufi who was one of the founding fathers of South Asian diplomacy after the Second World War, having been the founder and inaugural Director of Pakistan's Foreign Service Academy and subsequently becoming Bangladesh's first Foreign Secretary when it gained its independence in 1971. He was Bangladesh's senior-most diplomat both during the 'Liberation War' period of its Mujibnagar
administration as well as in peacetime.
A former Carnegie
Fellow in International Peace and Rockefeller Foundation
Scholar and Research Fellow, he has been described as "soft-spoken and scholarly" and "a lesson for all diplomats".
Exceptionally for a Bengali-born diplomat, he rose to the most senior ranks of public service in Pakistan. Then at the time Bangladesh began seeking independence, he spectacularly defected and changed sides in order to support the fledgling country of Bangladesh - a major propaganda coup and morale boost for the cause of Bangladeshi liberation given his stature in Pakistan's hierarchy. Fateh was automatically the highest-ranked and most senior foreign service officer in the new country. His story was later documented in a National Geographic documentary, Running for Freedom.
Following his death he was described by a former colleague and successor Foreign Secretary as "a great and brave freedom fighter" who was at the same time "remarkably reticent about his contributions", a "soft-spoken and scholarly diplomat" whose service to the Bangladeshi independence cause at a critical period was "invaluable" and "a lesson for all diplomats. His outstanding professional skill and deep sense of patriotism should be a shining example". The Foreign Minister
of Bangladesh Dipu Moni
talked about his "contribution to self-right movements of people, country's independence struggle and managing assistance to war ravaged country after independence." She also cited his "outstanding career", stating that he would be "always remembered for his contribution to the country's liberation" war.
on May 16, 1924 in a landowning family, to Abdul Gafur and his second wife Zohra Khatun. Fateh was a middle child, in a large family of a dozen children who survived to adulthood, while two other siblings died young. His father Abdul Gafur had attended Presidency College, Calcutta, and was one of the first Muslim daroga (sheriffs) in British India. Fateh's mother Zohra was the daughter of a local nobleman. Fateh passed his matriculation exams from Ramkrishna High English School in Kishorganj in 1941. After passing his Intermediate exams from Ananda Mohan College in Mymensingh
in 1943, he undertook higher studies in English Literature
at Dhaka University (BA
Honours in 1946 and MA
in 1947) where he also excelled in sport, for a time captaining the cricket
team and becoming the table tennis
champion.
, he took the first Foreign Service exams of Pakistan (1948), before teaching English Literature for a few months at Michael Madhusudhan Datta College in Jessore. He joined the first batch of Pakistan Foreign Service trainees in 1949, moving to Karachi
. Soon after he left for training in London, which included taking a special course at the London School of Economics
, before he moved in 1950 to Paris to complete his training. Returning briefly to Karachi, he was sent back (1951) to Paris as Third Secretary in the Pakistan Embassy.
A further posting as Third Secretary followed in Calcutta (1953–1956). During this time he married, at Rangpur
on 5 January 1956, Mahfuza Banu of Dhubri
, Assam
daughter of Shahabuddin Ahmed, a respected lawyer
and Mashudaa Banu a well known social campaigner. Then promoted to Second Secretary, he served in the Pakistan Embassy in Washington, D.C. from 1956 to 1960, during which time he and his wife had their two sons, one of whom, Aladin, is a strategy consultant, academic, artist and Editor Emeritus of the Bangladeshi news organisation Bdnews24.
Fateh was a Director
attached to the Foreign Ministry in Karachi from 1960 to 1963, during which time he was founding Director of Pakistan's Foreign Service Academy in Lahore and also went for a year and a half (1962–1963) to Geneva
as a Fellow
of the Graduate Institute of International Studies
(Institut Universitaire de Hautes Etudes Internationales) under a Carnegie
fellowship.
Further foreign postings followed. He was First Secretary (and latterly acting chief of mission) in Prague
from 1965 to 1966, Counsellor
in New Delhi
from 1966 to 1967, and Deputy High Commissioner
in Calcutta from 1968 to 1970. He received his first posting as Ambassador
, at the Pakistan Embassy in Baghdad
, in 1970.
, now Acting President
in the Bangladesh government-in-exile, to join the liberation struggle.
At about the same time, in July 1971, Fateh received a summons from the Pakistan Foreign Ministry to attend a conference in Tehran
of regional Pakistani ambassadors. He chose to take his official car ostensibly to drive to Tehran but, as he and his driver approached the Iran
–Iraq
border, he feigned chest pains and ordered the driver to return him home, where he arrived that evening. Saying that he would take a plane the next day, he dismissed the driver. That night, he fled with his wife and sons across the border into Kuwait
, where they were assisted by officials attached to the local Indian Embassy to take a plane to London.
The announcement of Fateh's defection
to the Bangladesh cause marked the first time a full ambassador had joined the fledgling Bangladesh diplomatic service
. The news was received with fury by the military regime in Islamabad
, duped by what was later described as a "cool and calculated James Bond-type adventure" and a calculated plunge into danger. It was a dramatic defection which created sensation in diplomatic circles and greatly boosted the morale of those engaged in the war of liberation. The Yahya Khan military regime in Pakistan was furious and requested the British Government to extradite Fateh from London, but the requests were rebuffed by the British Government. These events were chronicled in a 2003 National Geographic Channel
television documentary, Running for Freedom.
The Mujibnagar government made him ambassador-at-large, followed in August 1971 by the concurrent position of Advisor to the Acting President
, a position he was to resign in January 1972 after the return to Bangladesh of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He had a key role managing relations with the United States and India whilst heading the nascent country's diplomatic service. As the senior-most diplomat of the Bangladesh movement in the United Nations
delegation under Justice Abu Sayed Choudhury which was in New York in September 1971 to lobby for the Bangladesh cause at the General Assembly, he played a vital role in the delegation's lobbying efforts. He was also in communication with other governments, such as the Nixon
administration in the United States and also with Senators, Congressmen, and high officials in the US Administration, World Bank, and IMF; he had the advantage as well of being familiar with decision-makers and the decision-making process having served as a diplomat in Washington 20 years earlier. Former colleague Syed Muazzem Ali described him as a "soft-spoken and scholarly diplomat" who was exceptional in articulating the cause and whose contributions were invaluable. He was one of the first high officials to reach Dhaka
after its liberation, and was quartered with other senior officials in Bangabhaban
until January 1972. He was also the highest Bangladeshi official in Dhaka until the acting president and cabinet arrived after independence; on his arrival in Dhaka he was driven under escort from the airport, becoming the first civilian official to lay a wreath at the ruins of the Shaheed Minar, an act planned to mark the first presence of the government in Dhaka. Already the effective head of the incipient foreign service, he became Foreign Secretary at the end of 1971, playing a key role in formulating Bangladesh's foreign policy.
conference for Youth
Ministers in Lusaka
. In 1975 he went to Morocco
and, at a time of a shortage in supply of phosphates, managed to secure a substantial phosphate shipment for Bangladesh.
In mid-1975 he was selected to be High Commissioner
in the UK, which post he took up in early 1976. His two years in London (1976–1977) saw him Chairing the Commonwealth Conference on Human Ecology
and Development
and the Bangladesh government approved his recommendation that dual citizenship be permitted. Many people from Bangladesh were settled in the UK, whose remittances into Bangladesh were an important source of foreign exchange
. He pointed out that to oblige them to forgo Bangladesh citizenship if they took up the benefits of British nationality
was not conducive to the continued maintenance of their ties to the mother country.
His last post was as Ambassador in Algiers
(1977–1982). He represented the Bangladesh government at conferences on Namibia
in Algiers of the United Nations (1980) and the Non Aligned
Conference (1981). He retired from that post in 1982.
Fateh became a casualty of Bangladesh's complex and shifting political landscape towards the end of his career. As he was closely identified with Bangladesh's initial, Liberation War era administration Fateh was not favoured by the military-backed regimes which followed it. Contemporary historians have characterised his Ambassadorial assignment to Algeria as a premature transfer and a virtual exile in a diplomatic post which was a relative back-water. One commentator stated Fateh was "a victim of conspiracy hatched against him by anti-liberation forces.
A Sufi, he once cited a few of the axioms according to which he led his life: "Do not speak anything that you do not yourself know to be true." "Speak in the spirit of offering, without the need to draw attention to yourself." "You should stand up when it matters."
Abul Fateh was buried with Bangladesh State Honours at Hendon Cemetery, London on December 7, 2010
The Bangladesh Government was represented by His Excellency the Bangladesh High Commissioner Professor Mohammad Sayeedur Rahman Khan who delivered a homily which spoke of the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina
's devastation at the news of Ambassador Fateh's death, conveyed the condolences of Foreign Minister Dipu Moni
and spoke of the highest standard of public service that Mr. Fateh's conduct and career represented. In consideration of the esteem of the Bangladesh government and its people for Ambassador Fateh, the High Commissioner had personally brought the flag of Bangladesh to be draped over the coffin so that Mr. Fateh could briefly lie in state before his interring. Justice of the Supreme Court the Right Honorable Syed Refaat Ahmed also spoke at the event about Abul Fateh's humility and self effacement in all contexts, against the backdrop of an enormous contribution to the public and civic life of the country. A few days later at the Qul Khwani and non-denominational Sufi service on 11 December 2010, Murad Qureshi
, Member of the London Assembly
at London's City Hall
, spoke, reminding those gathered that Abul Fateh father chose to stand and be counted during the 1971 war in quite fraught circumstances. The Sufi Order
established by Pir Hazrat Inayat Khan, whose son Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan
was a friend of Abul Fateh, arranged a non-denominational Sufi Service. Pir Vilayat Khan's son Pir Zia Khan sent a personal message, which also stated: "Abul Fateh Sahib has lived a life of honour and service and is a mystic in spirit"
All media in Bangladesh carried extensive notices about the passing away of the country's most distinguished diplomat.
Bangladesh
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...
i diplomat
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...
, statesman
Statesman
A statesman is usually a politician or other notable public figure who has had a long and respected career in politics or government at the national and international level. As a term of respect, it is usually left to supporters or commentators to use the term...
and Sufi who was one of the founding fathers of South Asian diplomacy after the Second World War, having been the founder and inaugural Director of Pakistan's Foreign Service Academy and subsequently becoming Bangladesh's first Foreign Secretary when it gained its independence in 1971. He was Bangladesh's senior-most diplomat both during the 'Liberation War' period of its Mujibnagar
Mujibnagar
Also See: Provisional Government of the People's Republic of BangladeshMujibnagar , formerly known as Baidyanathtala is a town in the Meherpur District of Bangladesh...
administration as well as in peacetime.
A former Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist, businessman, and entrepreneur who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century...
Fellow in International Peace and Rockefeller Foundation
Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation is a prominent philanthropic organization and private foundation based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The preeminent institution established by the six-generation Rockefeller family, it was founded by John D. Rockefeller , along with his son John D. Rockefeller, Jr...
Scholar and Research Fellow, he has been described as "soft-spoken and scholarly" and "a lesson for all diplomats".
Exceptionally for a Bengali-born diplomat, he rose to the most senior ranks of public service in Pakistan. Then at the time Bangladesh began seeking independence, he spectacularly defected and changed sides in order to support the fledgling country of Bangladesh - a major propaganda coup and morale boost for the cause of Bangladeshi liberation given his stature in Pakistan's hierarchy. Fateh was automatically the highest-ranked and most senior foreign service officer in the new country. His story was later documented in a National Geographic documentary, Running for Freedom.
Following his death he was described by a former colleague and successor Foreign Secretary as "a great and brave freedom fighter" who was at the same time "remarkably reticent about his contributions", a "soft-spoken and scholarly diplomat" whose service to the Bangladeshi independence cause at a critical period was "invaluable" and "a lesson for all diplomats. His outstanding professional skill and deep sense of patriotism should be a shining example". The Foreign Minister
Foreign minister
A Minister of Foreign Affairs, or foreign minister, is a cabinet minister who helps form the foreign policy of a sovereign state. The foreign minister is often regarded as the most senior ministerial position below that of the head of government . It is often granted to the deputy prime minister in...
of Bangladesh Dipu Moni
Dipu Moni
Dipu Moni is a Bangladeshi politician and diplomat and the current Minister of Foreign Affairs since 2009.-Early Political Career:Until now the principal focus of her work has been women's rights and entitlements, health legislation, health policy and management, health financing, strategic...
talked about his "contribution to self-right movements of people, country's independence struggle and managing assistance to war ravaged country after independence." She also cited his "outstanding career", stating that he would be "always remembered for his contribution to the country's liberation" war.
Early years and education
Abul Fateh was born in KishorganjKishoreganj District
-Place of Interest:Kishorganj is a place of the creed of respectively Sanatana and Loukik Islam. Both Meghna and Brahmaputra river have contributed to its existence. Many traditional rituals are observed every year in Kishoreganj. Among them Kurikhai Mela is one of the most celebrated fair. It is a...
on May 16, 1924 in a landowning family, to Abdul Gafur and his second wife Zohra Khatun. Fateh was a middle child, in a large family of a dozen children who survived to adulthood, while two other siblings died young. His father Abdul Gafur had attended Presidency College, Calcutta, and was one of the first Muslim daroga (sheriffs) in British India. Fateh's mother Zohra was the daughter of a local nobleman. Fateh passed his matriculation exams from Ramkrishna High English School in Kishorganj in 1941. After passing his Intermediate exams from Ananda Mohan College in Mymensingh
Mymensingh
Mymensingh , pronounced moy-mon-shing-haw, is a city of Bangladesh situated on the river Brahmaputra. It is the headquarters of the administrative unit Mymensingh District. Mymensingh is the anglicized pronunciation of the original name Momenshahi, referring to a ruler called Momen Shah. The cadet...
in 1943, he undertook higher studies in English Literature
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
at Dhaka University (BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
Honours in 1946 and MA
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in 1947) where he also excelled in sport, for a time captaining the cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
team and becoming the table tennis
Table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net...
champion.
Pakistani diplomat
While teaching English Literature at Brindaban College in SylhetSylhet
Sylhet , is a major city in north-eastern Bangladesh. It is the main city of Sylhet Division and Sylhet District, and was granted metropolitan city status in March 2009. Sylhet is located on the banks of the Surma Valley and is surrounded by the Jaintia, Khasi and Tripura hills...
, he took the first Foreign Service exams of Pakistan (1948), before teaching English Literature for a few months at Michael Madhusudhan Datta College in Jessore. He joined the first batch of Pakistan Foreign Service trainees in 1949, moving to Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
. Soon after he left for training in London, which included taking a special course at the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
, before he moved in 1950 to Paris to complete his training. Returning briefly to Karachi, he was sent back (1951) to Paris as Third Secretary in the Pakistan Embassy.
Rangpur, India
Rangpur is an archaeological site in Gujarat, India. Lying on the tip between the Gulf of Khambhat and Gulf of Kutch, it belongs to the period of the Indus valley civilization, and lies to the northwest of the larger site of Lothal. It was excavated by the Archaeological Survey of India, led by Dr....
on 5 January 1956, Mahfuza Banu of Dhubri
Dhubri
Dhubri is the headquarters of Dhubri district India. It is a small old town on the bank of the Brahmaputra and Gadadhar Rivers. In 1883, the town was first constituted as a Municipal Board and is situated about west from Guwahati, the state capital.Dhubri was an important commercial centre and...
, Assam
Assam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
daughter of Shahabuddin Ahmed, a respected lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
and Mashudaa Banu a well known social campaigner. Then promoted to Second Secretary, he served in the Pakistan Embassy in Washington, D.C. from 1956 to 1960, during which time he and his wife had their two sons, one of whom, Aladin, is a strategy consultant, academic, artist and Editor Emeritus of the Bangladeshi news organisation Bdnews24.
Fateh was a Director
Director-general
The term director-general is a title given the highest executive officer within a governmental, statutory, NGO, third sector or not-for-profit institution.-European Union:...
attached to the Foreign Ministry in Karachi from 1960 to 1963, during which time he was founding Director of Pakistan's Foreign Service Academy in Lahore and also went for a year and a half (1962–1963) to Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
as a Fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
of the Graduate Institute of International Studies
Graduate Institute of International Studies
The Graduate Institute of International Studies, best known as HEI , was founded in 1927 as one of the first institutions in the world dedicated to the study of international relations...
(Institut Universitaire de Hautes Etudes Internationales) under a Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist, businessman, and entrepreneur who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century...
fellowship.
Further foreign postings followed. He was First Secretary (and latterly acting chief of mission) in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
from 1965 to 1966, Counsellor
Consul (representative)
The political title Consul is used for the official representatives of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, and to facilitate trade and friendship between the peoples of the two countries...
in New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
from 1966 to 1967, and Deputy High Commissioner
High Commissioner
High Commissioner is the title of various high-ranking, special executive positions held by a commission of appointment.The English term is also used to render various equivalent titles in other languages.-Bilateral diplomacy:...
in Calcutta from 1968 to 1970. He received his first posting as Ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
, at the Pakistan Embassy in Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
, in 1970.
Bangladeshi independence
After the Pakistani military crackdown in March 1971, Fateh received a request from a former university dormitory mate, Syed Nazrul IslamSyed Nazrul Islam
Syed Nazrul Islam was a Bangladeshi politician and a senior leader of the Awami League. During the Bangladesh Liberation War, he served as the acting President of Bangladesh in the absence of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.-Early life:...
, now Acting President
Acting president
An Acting President is a person who temporarily fills the role of an organization's or country's president, either when the real president is unavailable or when the post is vacant .-See also:*Acting *Acting President of Pakistan*Acting President of Malta*Acting President of...
in the Bangladesh government-in-exile, to join the liberation struggle.
At about the same time, in July 1971, Fateh received a summons from the Pakistan Foreign Ministry to attend a conference in Tehran
Tehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
of regional Pakistani ambassadors. He chose to take his official car ostensibly to drive to Tehran but, as he and his driver approached the Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
–Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
border, he feigned chest pains and ordered the driver to return him home, where he arrived that evening. Saying that he would take a plane the next day, he dismissed the driver. That night, he fled with his wife and sons across the border into Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
, where they were assisted by officials attached to the local Indian Embassy to take a plane to London.
The announcement of Fateh's defection
Defection
In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state or political entity in exchange for allegiance to another. More broadly, it involves abandoning a person, cause or doctrine to whom or to which one is bound by some tie, as of allegiance or duty.This term is also applied,...
to the Bangladesh cause marked the first time a full ambassador had joined the fledgling Bangladesh diplomatic service
Diplomatic service
Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel enjoy diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to other countries...
. The news was received with fury by the military regime in Islamabad
Islamabad
Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
, duped by what was later described as a "cool and calculated James Bond-type adventure" and a calculated plunge into danger. It was a dramatic defection which created sensation in diplomatic circles and greatly boosted the morale of those engaged in the war of liberation. The Yahya Khan military regime in Pakistan was furious and requested the British Government to extradite Fateh from London, but the requests were rebuffed by the British Government. These events were chronicled in a 2003 National Geographic Channel
National Geographic Channel
National Geographic Channel, also commercially abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo, is a subscription television channel that airs non-fiction television programs produced by the National Geographic Society. Like History and the Discovery Channel, the channel features documentaries with factual...
television documentary, Running for Freedom.
The Mujibnagar government made him ambassador-at-large, followed in August 1971 by the concurrent position of Advisor to the Acting President
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
, a position he was to resign in January 1972 after the return to Bangladesh of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He had a key role managing relations with the United States and India whilst heading the nascent country's diplomatic service. As the senior-most diplomat of the Bangladesh movement in the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
delegation under Justice Abu Sayed Choudhury which was in New York in September 1971 to lobby for the Bangladesh cause at the General Assembly, he played a vital role in the delegation's lobbying efforts. He was also in communication with other governments, such as the Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
administration in the United States and also with Senators, Congressmen, and high officials in the US Administration, World Bank, and IMF; he had the advantage as well of being familiar with decision-makers and the decision-making process having served as a diplomat in Washington 20 years earlier. Former colleague Syed Muazzem Ali described him as a "soft-spoken and scholarly diplomat" who was exceptional in articulating the cause and whose contributions were invaluable. He was one of the first high officials to reach 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...
after its liberation, and was quartered with other senior officials in Bangabhaban
Bangabhaban
The Banga Bhaban is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of Bangladesh, the head of state of Bangladesh. Located in the capital Dhaka, the palace has been the official residence of the British Viceroy of India until 1912, when the capital was moved to New Delhi. From...
until January 1972. He was also the highest Bangladeshi official in Dhaka until the acting president and cabinet arrived after independence; on his arrival in Dhaka he was driven under escort from the airport, becoming the first civilian official to lay a wreath at the ruins of the Shaheed Minar, an act planned to mark the first presence of the government in Dhaka. Already the effective head of the incipient foreign service, he became Foreign Secretary at the end of 1971, playing a key role in formulating Bangladesh's foreign policy.
Bangladeshi ambassador
He then took up the position of Bangladesh's first Ambassador in Paris (1972–1976). The early part of this posting involved extensive travel in Africa to persuade African governments to recognise the independence of Bangladesh. In 1973 he represented Bangladesh at a CommonwealthCommonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
conference for Youth
Youth
Youth is the time of life between childhood and adulthood . Definitions of the specific age range that constitutes youth vary. An individual's actual maturity may not correspond to their chronological age, as immature individuals could exist at all ages.-Usage:Around the world, the terms "youth",...
Ministers in Lusaka
Lusaka
Lusaka is the capital and largest city of Zambia. It is located in the southern part of the central plateau, at an elevation of about 1,300 metres . It has a population of about 1.7 million . It is a commercial centre as well as the centre of government, and the four main highways of Zambia head...
. In 1975 he went to Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
and, at a time of a shortage in supply of phosphates, managed to secure a substantial phosphate shipment for Bangladesh.
In mid-1975 he was selected to be High Commissioner
High Commissioner
High Commissioner is the title of various high-ranking, special executive positions held by a commission of appointment.The English term is also used to render various equivalent titles in other languages.-Bilateral diplomacy:...
in the UK, which post he took up in early 1976. His two years in London (1976–1977) saw him Chairing the Commonwealth Conference on Human Ecology
Human ecology
Human ecology is the subdiscipline of ecology that focuses on humans. More broadly, it is an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary study of the relationship between humans and their natural, social, and built environments. The term 'human ecology' first appeared in a sociological study in 1921...
and Development
International development
International development or global development is a concept that lacks a universally accepted definition, but it is most used in a holistic and multi-disciplinary context of human development — the development of greater quality of life for humans...
and the Bangladesh government approved his recommendation that dual citizenship be permitted. Many people from Bangladesh were settled in the UK, whose remittances into Bangladesh were an important source of foreign exchange
Foreign exchange market
The foreign exchange market is a global, worldwide decentralized financial market for trading currencies. Financial centers around the world function as anchors of trading between a wide range of different types of buyers and sellers around the clock, with the exception of weekends...
. He pointed out that to oblige them to forgo Bangladesh citizenship if they took up the benefits of British nationality
Nationality
Nationality is membership of a nation or sovereign state, usually determined by their citizenship, but sometimes by ethnicity or place of residence, or based on their sense of national identity....
was not conducive to the continued maintenance of their ties to the mother country.
His last post was as Ambassador in Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
(1977–1982). He represented the Bangladesh government at conferences on Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
in Algiers of the United Nations (1980) and the Non Aligned
Non-Aligned Movement
The Non-Aligned Movement is a group of states considering themselves not aligned formally with or against any major power bloc. As of 2011, the movement had 120 members and 17 observer countries...
Conference (1981). He retired from that post in 1982.
Fateh became a casualty of Bangladesh's complex and shifting political landscape towards the end of his career. As he was closely identified with Bangladesh's initial, Liberation War era administration Fateh was not favoured by the military-backed regimes which followed it. Contemporary historians have characterised his Ambassadorial assignment to Algeria as a premature transfer and a virtual exile in a diplomatic post which was a relative back-water. One commentator stated Fateh was "a victim of conspiracy hatched against him by anti-liberation forces.
Retirement
Retiring in 1982, he lived with his wife Mahfuza Fateh in Dhaka for ten years before they settled in London to be near their sons.Death and honours at funeral
Abul Fateh passed away in London of natural causes at 0745 on December 4, 2010.A Sufi, he once cited a few of the axioms according to which he led his life: "Do not speak anything that you do not yourself know to be true." "Speak in the spirit of offering, without the need to draw attention to yourself." "You should stand up when it matters."
Abul Fateh was buried with Bangladesh State Honours at Hendon Cemetery, London on December 7, 2010
The Bangladesh Government was represented by His Excellency the Bangladesh High Commissioner Professor Mohammad Sayeedur Rahman Khan who delivered a homily which spoke of the Prime Minister 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...
's devastation at the news of Ambassador Fateh's death, conveyed the condolences of Foreign Minister Dipu Moni
Dipu Moni
Dipu Moni is a Bangladeshi politician and diplomat and the current Minister of Foreign Affairs since 2009.-Early Political Career:Until now the principal focus of her work has been women's rights and entitlements, health legislation, health policy and management, health financing, strategic...
and spoke of the highest standard of public service that Mr. Fateh's conduct and career represented. In consideration of the esteem of the Bangladesh government and its people for Ambassador Fateh, the High Commissioner had personally brought the flag of Bangladesh to be draped over the coffin so that Mr. Fateh could briefly lie in state before his interring. Justice of the Supreme Court the Right Honorable Syed Refaat Ahmed also spoke at the event about Abul Fateh's humility and self effacement in all contexts, against the backdrop of an enormous contribution to the public and civic life of the country. A few days later at the Qul Khwani and non-denominational Sufi service on 11 December 2010, Murad Qureshi
Murad Qureshi
Murad Qureshi is a British Labour Party politician, and a Member of the London Assembly.-Background:Qureshi was born in May 1965 in Stockport, Cheshire, but he was brought up in Westminster, London, when his parents moved in July 1965...
, Member of the London Assembly
London Assembly
The London Assembly is an elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds majority, to amend the mayor's annual budget. The assembly was established in 2000 and is headquartered at City Hall on the south...
at London's City Hall
City hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall or a municipal building or civic centre, is the chief administrative building of a city...
, spoke, reminding those gathered that Abul Fateh father chose to stand and be counted during the 1971 war in quite fraught circumstances. The Sufi Order
Sufi Order International
The Sufi Order International is an organization dedicated to "Universal Sufism" as elaborated by Hazrat Inayat Khan.The order is currently led by Pir Zia Inayat Khan, the grandson of Hazrat Inayat Khan and son of Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan....
established by Pir Hazrat Inayat Khan, whose son Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan
Vilayat Inayat Khan
Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan, was the eldest son of Sufi Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan, head of the Sufi Order International. Pir Zia Inayat Khan is Pir Vilayat's son and successor as Pir of the Sufi Order International...
was a friend of Abul Fateh, arranged a non-denominational Sufi Service. Pir Vilayat Khan's son Pir Zia Khan sent a personal message, which also stated: "Abul Fateh Sahib has lived a life of honour and service and is a mystic in spirit"
All media in Bangladesh carried extensive notices about the passing away of the country's most distinguished diplomat.
Honours
- Carnegie Foundation Fellow in International PeaceCarnegie FoundationThe Carnegie Foundation is an organization based in The Hague, Netherlands. It was founded in 1903 by Andrew Carnegie in order to manage his donation of US$1.5 million, which was used for the construction, management and maintenance of the Peace Palace...
. - Rockefeller Foundation ScholarRockefeller FoundationThe Rockefeller Foundation is a prominent philanthropic organization and private foundation based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The preeminent institution established by the six-generation Rockefeller family, it was founded by John D. Rockefeller , along with his son John D. Rockefeller, Jr...
- Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee MedalQueen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee MedalThe Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 1977 to mark the 25th anniversary of the accession to the throne of Queen Elizabeth II...
, 1975 - Bangladesh Government State Honours at Funeral