Oli Ahmad (born 30 September 1941) is a Bangladeshi politician who is the current president of the Liberal Democratic Party. He is a former Bangladesh Nationalist Party politician and member of parliament who held several ministral positions. He is also a veteran freedom fighter who fought in the Bangladesh Liberation War.
Military career Pakistan Army He was commissioned in the Pakistani Army in 1967. He was posted to the 4th East Bengal Regiment in 1967. On 24 September 1970, he was posted to the 8th East Bengal Regiment.
Liberation War of Bangladesh Ahmad was one of the Bengali military officers to revolt against the Pakistani army on 25 March 1971, before the start of the Bangladesh Liberation War. He was the first officer to be awarded the Bir Bikrom for his bravery during that war. He fought under Major Ziaur Rahman in Sector No. 1.
Bangladesh Army After the independence of Bangladesh, he was promoted to the rank of major in October 1972. Later, he served as the 2nd-in-Command of 19,9,10 and 6 East Bengal Regiment. In September 1975, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel and was appointed as the commanding officer of the 24 East Bengal Regiment in Saidpur. In November 1975, he was posted to Army Headquarters as general staff officer-1 (operations). Later, he served in the offices of army chief, DCMLA, CMLA, and the president of Bangladesh. In January 1980, he was promoted to the rank of colonel. On 10 January 1980, he resigned from the army.
Political career Ahmad is highly regarded as one of the key founding members of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). On 26 October 2006, Ahmad and several other senior leaders of the BNP defected to form the Liberal Democratic Party. At present he is serving as the president of the Liberal Democratic Party. While chief coordinator for the 20 Party Alliance, Ahmad launched a new movement called "Jatiya Mukti Mancha" on 27 June 2019.
Elections General elections In 1996, there were two elections (6th and 7th parliaments); Oli Ahmad was elected MP both times. He was first elected from Chandanaish, in the March 1980 by-election and was in the 2nd parliament. General ElectionParliamentary SeatVotePercentage of total votePolitical PartyResult2008Chittagong-1382,03645.8Liberal Democratic Party WonChittagong-1463,41226.9 2nd2001Chittagong-1370,01653.8Bangladesh Nationalist Party WonChittagong-1464,18429.1 2nd1996Chittagong-1362,32361.8 WonChittagong-1475,85548.2 Won1991Chittagong-1352,07259.5 Won
Presidential elections ElectionCandidatePolitical PartyNational affiliationVotes%Result2026Oli AhmedLiberal Democratic Party11 Party Alliance8825.66Lost
Bangladesh Football Federation Ahmad served as the president of the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) from 1992 until he resigned in late 1994.
Publications Books published by Oli Ahmad include: Revolution, Military Personnel and the War of Liberation in Bangladesh. Dhaka: Dizzy Publications, 2004. Battles That I Fought and Interviews of Liberation War Heroes. Dhaka: Annesha Prokashon, 2009.
References
Further reading "Statesmen's Who's Who" – book published in 1992 "Asia Pacific Who's Who" published in 2009 – Vol. IX from New Delhi, India
External links
"Accord Will Allow Refugees' Return to Bangladesh"
"Oli Ahmed agrees on launching united anti-govt movement with Khaleda" "Col Oli Supports BNP's anti-government movement" "Ugly faces of ruling party, Oli comes under attack" "Col Oli gets bail in 2 cases" "Off to Jail" personal website ldp website