Govt reappoints noted journalist Abul Kalam Azad as BSS MD

The government has reappointed renowned journalist Abul Kalam Azad as the Managing Director and Chief Editor of the state-run national news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) for two more years with the status of a secretary to the government. 

Public Administration Ministry today issued a gazette notification in this regard, stating that it will be effective from February 4, 2022. 

A career journalist, Azad has been serving as the national news agency chief since 2014 with the same status while previously he was entrusted with the position of Prime Minister's Press Secretary from 2009 to 2014. 

Earlier, he served as the Press Minister at the Bangladesh Embassy in the United States and upon returning from Washington D.C. in 2002, he was made the Press Secretary to Awami League President and the then Leader of the Opposition Sheikh Hasina.

Azad made his debut as a journalist in the Dainik Ittefaq in 1973 and subsequently emerged as a professional leader by virtue of his quality as a trade unionist.

He was elected as the general secretary and subsequently, president of Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ) and later became the secretary general and president of Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ), the apex body of the country's journalist community.

Alongside his career as a journalist and union leader, Azad served as a member of Dhaka University Senate, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) syndicate, Press Institute of Bangladesh (PIB) Board of Directors, Bangladesh Press Council and Bangladesh Film Censor Board.