Name Kamrul (diplomat) | Role Diplomat | |
Kamrul Ahsan is a Bangladeshi diplomat. He is Secretary for Bilateral and Consular Affairs in the Foreign Ministry of Bangladesh. He served as Bangladesh's High Commissioner to Canada from September 2012 to May 2016,. He was also his country's High Commissioner to Singapore from August 2007 to August 2012 where he was the Dean of Singapore Diplomatic and Consular Corps representing more than 70 resident Embassies and High Commissions. From Ottawa, Canada, he was also concurrently accredited as Bangladesh Ambassador to Argentina, Cuba, Venezuela and Jamaica. In Canada, he served as Dean of the Asia Pacific Diplomatic Group.
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Early life and education
Ahsan was born in 1962 at Noakhali in Bangladesh. He attended elementary and middle school in Comilla, Bangladesh at Our Lady of Fatima High School (1967–1970) and Comilla Zilla School (1972–1977) respectively. He studied at Dhaka College (1977–1979) at higher secondary level. He obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) in 1984. He also studied at Beijing Language and Culture University in China (1989–1991) and attended a course on security matters at Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies at Hawaii, US (2000).
Career
Ahsan started his engineering career in Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board and worked there till February 1988. Then he appeared at the Bangladesh Civil Service Examination and joined Bangladesh Ministry of Foreign Affairs as an Assistant Secretary in 1988.
He served in various capacities at Bangladesh Missions in Beijing, London, Washington DC and Dubai before being appointed as Bangladesh High Commissioner in Singapore. From 1992 to 1995, he served as Second Secretary and First Secretary at Bangladesh Embassy in Beijing, China. From 1995 to 1999, he served at Bangladesh High Commission, London, United Kingdom initially as First Secretary (Political) and later as Counsellor (Political).
At headquarters in Dhaka from 1999 to 2001, he served as Director (Personnel), Director (South Asia and SAARC) and Director (Foreign Secretary's Office). During the period he was closely associated with Bangladesh-India negotiations on various issues.
From 2001 to 2003, he served as Political Counsellor at the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington DC, United States. In September 2003, he was appointed as Bangladesh Consul General for Dubai and Northern Emirates, United Arab Emirates where he served till August 2007.
Kamrul Ahsan got his first Ambassadorial assignment in Singapore. On 3 August 2007, he presented his credentials to His Excellency Sellapan Ramanathan, then President of the Republic of Singapore as the High Commissioner of Bangladesh.
Kamrul Ahsan represented Bangladesh at different international negotiations. He was in the drafting group for Least Developed Countries (LDCs) during the Frame Convention on Climate Change Meetings in Geneva. He also represented Bangladesh at United Nations Environment Programme meetings and a regular participant to the Shangri La Dialogue in Singapore from 2008 to 2012. He helped to form the Bangladesh Business Chamber of Singapore.
Personal
Ahsan is married to Saira Nazneen Ahsan and has two sons - Zoheb Ahsan and Aaryan Ahsan. His interests include travel, reading and cricket. He is also a short story writer.