Bot at 04:10, 15 November 2022

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{{short description|Bangladeshi politician, lawyer and journalist (1945-2007)}}
[[Image:Rukhsana, Faezul and Nadira.jpg|right|thumb|From left to right: Rukhsana Huq and A. K. Faezul Huq with their daughter-in-law (March, 2007)]]
'''Abul Kalam Faezul Huq''' (A. K. Faezul Huq) ({{lang-bn|এ. কে. ফায়জুল হক}}) (15 March 1945 – 19 July 2007) was a Bangladeshi [[politician]], [[lawyer]], and [[columnist]]. Huq served as a member of parliament on three occasions, and held various ministerial portfolios including [[Public Works]], [[Urban Development]], [[Jute]], and [[Textiles]] after Bangladesh gained independence. He was first elected as a member of the [[Pakistan National Assembly]] from the [[Banaripara Upazila]]-[[Nesarabad (Swarupkati) Upazila|Swarupkathi]]-[[Nazirpur Upazila]] constituency as a [[Awami League]] nomination in 1970.

==Biography==
[[Image:Faezul and Rukshana.JPG|right|thumb|A. K. Faezul and Rukhsana Huq (2006)]]

Born in [[Calcutta]], Faezul was the only son of [[A. K. Fazlul Huq]], then [[Prime Minister]] of undivided Bengal. He attended [[St Gregory's School (Dhaka)|St. Gregory's High School]], [[Dhaka Notre Dame College]] and obtained degrees in political science and English from [[Dhaka University]] by 1967. Later Faezul completed his [[Law]] degree at the Dhaka University and Central Law College.

In August 1969, Faezul Huq was invited to join the Department of [[Political Science]] at the Notre Dame College, Dhaka as a lecturer. Huq later left the teaching profession and entered full-time politics in March 1970. He was elected as one of the youngest members of the then Pakistan National Assembly.

Faezul was kept in confinement, along with his wife Rukhsana Huq, in July 1971 during the [[Bangladesh Liberation War]], at [[Faisalabad]] (in then [[West Pakistan]]), and at gunpoint forced to sign a blank piece of paper by the Pakistani forces which would be later used against him in allegations that he had made pro-West Pakistan statements during the War. Faezul, along with his wife, who was pregnant at the time, were released shortly afterwards.

In the later years, Faezul tried but ultimately failed to clear his name from the allegations against him: that he had purportedly made pro-West Pakistani statements during the ongoing Liberation War at the time. These allegations would be later repeatedly mentioned by his Bangladeshi political rivals and journalists, so much so, it went into print, which adversely affected Faezul's political career throughout the later years of his life.

After the Liberation War, he was accused of allegedly having close ties with the then West Pakistan because he had Pakistani relatives from his maternal side and because of his alleged pro-Pakistani written statement. As a result, he was arrested on 17 December 1971 and imprisoned until September 1972 under the [[Collaborators Act, 1972]].

Faezul was released after a formal appeal from his wife, Rukhsana Huq, with the assistance of Rafiqullah Chaudhury, Secretary to the then Prime Minister [[Sheikh Mujibur Rahman]]. The appeal was addressed to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman for his consent.

After his release, Faezul stayed away from politics until 1978, when he sought election to the Parliament. He was elected as a MP in 1979. He was made a member of the envoy's pool in 1980, and Director of [[Bangladesh Krishi Bank]] in 1981. He was appointed a Minister of State in charge of [[Public Works]] in early 1982, and remained in office until [[Martial Law]] was declared in March 1982.

From 1982 until 1994 he focussed his efforts on social work and sports. He was an active member of the [[Lions Club]] in Bangladesh for 30 years.

In 1994, he became involved in politics again, and was elected in the 1996 June election. He was appointed [[Minister (government)|Minister]] of State in charge of the Ministry of Jute and Textiles.

In his final years, Faezul Huq appeared on numerous current affairs television programs.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}} Faezul also worked as a freelance journalist, writing for newspapers and periodicals including ''New Age'', ''Holiday'', ''Dhaka Courier'', ''Financial Express'', ''Prothom Alo''. He was associated with a number of social and sports organizations, including [[Red Crescent Society]], [[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]], Cancer Society, Gregorian Association, Bangladesh - China Friendship Society, [[Bangladesh Shooting Federation]], [[Lions Club|Lions Club of Bangladesh]], [[Dhaka Club]], [[Anjuman Mufidul Islam]] and [[Brothers Union Club]]. Since 2007, [[St Gregory's School (Dhaka)|St. Gregory's High School]] has awarded an ''A. K. Faezul Huq Scholarship''.<ref name="Star Campus">{{Cite news |last=Khaleel |first=Aslam |date=December 2, 2007 |title=St Gregorys: A Portrait of Glory and Tradition |work=Star Campus |publisher=The Daily Star |url=http://archive.thedailystar.net/campus/2007/12/02/camspotlight.htm}}</ref>

On 19 July 2007, Faezul Huq died of [[sudden cardiac death|heart attack]] at his residence in [[Baridhara]], [[Dhaka]]. His body was buried at [[Banani graveyard]], [[Dhaka]] on 20 July 2007.<ref name="New Age">{{Cite news |date=July 20, 2007 |title=Faezul Haq dies |work=New Age |location=Dhaka |url=http://www.newagebd.com/2007/jul/20/front.html#11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930204053/http://www.newagebd.com/2007/jul/20/front.html |archive-date=September 30, 2022}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Faezul Huq married Marium Begum Mary in 1966, which was short-lived ultimately resulting in a divorce. Together they had two children: A. K. Faiyazul Huq (Raju) and Farahnaz Huq Chowdhury (Reepa).

After divorcing Marium Begum Mary, Faezul Huq married Rukhsana Huq in mid-1969 and together they had five children: A. K. Ferzul Huq (Faisal), Fersamin Huq Iqbal (Flora), Fahsina Huq (Lira), Fahmina Huq (Shyama), and [[barrister]] A. K. Fazlul Huq Jr. (Pikku).

His wife Rukhsana Huq passed away on 24 January 2020 in Dhaka, Bangladesh and was buried at [[Banani Model Town|Banani]] graveyard sharing the same grave of her late husband, A. K. Faezul Huq.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huq, A. K. Faezul}}
[[Category:1945 births]]
[[Category:2007 deaths]]
[[Category:Burials at Banani Graveyard]]
[[Category:State Ministers of Housing and Public Works (Bangladesh)]]
[[Category:State Ministers of Textiles and Jute (Bangladesh)]]
[[Category:2nd Jatiya Sangsad members]]
[[Category:7th Jatiya Sangsad members]]
[[Category:Notre Dame College, Dhaka alumni]]
[[Category:Notre Dame College, Dhaka faculty]]
[[Category:University of Dhaka alumni]]
[[Category:Bangladesh Nationalist Party politicians]]
[[Category:Awami League politicians]]
[[Category:20th-century Bengalis]]
[[Category:People from Bogra District]]
[[Category:St. Gregory's High School and College alumni]]

A. K. Faezul Huq - Revision history

Bot at 04:10, 15 November 2022