Pandit debotosh dey at 14:20, 6 July 2025

2025-07-06T14:20:31Z

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{{Short description|Bangladeshi politician (1943–2020)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = M. A. Hashem
| native_name = এম এ হাসেম
| native_name_lang = bn
| constituency_MP = [[Noakhali-2]]
| term_start = 1 October 2001
| term_end = 28 October 2006<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.parliament.gov.bd/index.php/en/mps/members-of-parliament/former-mp-s/list-of-8th-parliament-members-bangla |title=List of 8th Parliament Members |publisher=Bangladesh Parliament |access-date=4 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180918161135/http://www.parliament.gov.bd/images/pdf/formermp-bangla/8th%20Parliament%20.pdf |archive-date=18 September 2018}}</ref>
| predecessor = [[Barkat Ullah Bulu]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.parliament.gov.bd/index.php/en/mps/members-of-parliament/former-mp-s/list-of-7th-parliament-members-bangla |title=List of 7th Parliament Members |publisher=Bangladesh Parliament |access-date=4 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924064449/http://www.parliament.gov.bd/images/pdf/formermp-bangla/7th%20Parliament%20.pdf |archive-date=24 September 2015}}</ref>
| successor = [[Zainul Abdin Farroque]]
| birth_date = {{birth date|1943|08|30|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Noakhali]], [[Bengal Presidency]], [[British India]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|2020|12|24|1943|08|30|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Dhaka]], Bangladesh
| party = [[Bangladesh Nationalist Party]]
| spouse = Sultana Hashem
| occupation = Businessman, politician
| death_cause = [[Coronavirus disease 2019|COVID-19]]
}}

'''M. A. Hashem''' (30 August 1943 – 24 December 2020) was a [[Bangladeshi]] [[businessman]] and the founding chairman of [[Partex Group]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Partex Group chairman fails to turn up at ACC |url=http://en.prothom-alo.com/bangladesh/news/52937/Partex-Group-chairman-fails-to-turn-up-at-ACC |work=Prothom Alo |access-date=22 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160918231454/http://en.prothom-alo.com/bangladesh/news/52937/Partex-Group-chairman-fails-to-turn-up-at-ACC |archive-date=18 September 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=High lending rates hold businesses captive |url=http://www.thedailystar.net/news/high-lending-rates-hold-businesses-captive |work=The Daily Star |access-date=22 September 2016 |date=9 October 2013}}</ref> He served as member of parliament from the [[Bangladesh Nationalist Party]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Moudud, Mosharraf to face trial |url=http://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/moudud-mosharraf-to-face-trial |work=bdnews24.com |date=21 May 2014 |access-date=22 September 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Jalil, Babar, Sheikh Selim, Altaf, Mintoo, others held in massive drive |url=http://archive.thedailystar.net/2007/05/29/d7052901011.htm |work=The Daily Star |access-date=22 September 2016 |date=29 May 2007 |archive-date=22 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150222022036/http://archive.thedailystar.net/2007/05/29/d7052901011.htm |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Jalil, Babar remanded; Altaf, Patal sent to jail |url=http://archive.thedailystar.net/2007/05/30/d7053001011.htm |work=The Daily Star |access-date=22 September 2016 |date=30 May 2007 |archive-date=23 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160923045504/http://archive.thedailystar.net/2007/05/30/d7053001011.htm |url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Early life ==
M. A. Hashem was born on 30 August 1943 in [[Sonaimuri Upazila|Sonaimuri]] of [[Noakhali District|Noakhali]].<ref name=death>{{Cite news |date=24 December 2020 |script-title=bn:পারটেক্স গ্রুপের চেয়ারম্যান এম এ হাসেম মারা গেছেন |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/bangla/%E0%A6%B6%E0%A7%80%E0%A6%B0%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%B7-%E0%A6%96%E0%A6%AC%E0%A6%B0/%E0%A6%AA%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%9F%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%95%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%B8-%E0%A6%97%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%B0%E0%A7%81%E0%A6%AA%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%B0-%E0%A6%9A%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%AF%E0%A6%BC%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%AE%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AF%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%A8-%E0%A6%8F%E0%A6%AE-%E0%A6%8F-%E0%A6%B9%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B8%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%AE-%E0%A6%AE%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%BE-%E0%A6%97%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%9B%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%A8-194309 |access-date=24 December 2020 |work=The Daily Star |language=bn}}</ref>

== Career ==
In 1959, Hashem began his career by trading tobacco. He went on to establish [[Partex Group]], one of the largest companies in Bangladesh, consisting of over 70 factories and employing over 50,000 people. Partex's companies are market leaders in nearly all sectors of industry in Bangladesh.<ref name="toi14Mar2014">{{Cite news |author=Moinak Mitra |date=14 March 2014 |title=South Asian Business Tycoons: How tycoons from Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka built thriving business empires |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/international-business/how-tycoons-from-nepal-bangladesh-pakistan-and-sri-lanka-built-thriving-business-empires/articleshow/32020991.cms |access-date=16 June 2021 |work=The Times of India |language=en}}</ref> He expanded his business into food & beverages, steel, real estate, furniture, plastics, paper, power and energy, jute, agribusiness, shipyards, shipping, cotton, textile, construction, IT, cables, aviation, PVC, ceramics, telecommunication, logistics, fisheries, etc.<ref name="toi14Mar2014" />

Hashem was elected to parliament in 2001 from [[Noakhali-2]] as a [[Bangladesh Nationalist Party]] candidate. He was arrested by the caretaker government in 2007 during the [[2006–08 Bangladeshi political crisis|2006-2008 Bangladesh political crises]] along with most of the wealthiest people in the country at the time. He left the Bangladesh Nationalist Party in 2008 after the military-baked caretaker government regime in Bangladesh had ended and steadfastly denied his involvement in a business syndicate that manipulated commodity prices.<ref name="toi14Mar2014" /> He also said former prime minister [[Khaleda Zia]] had pressured him to join the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Politics is not the only way to serve the country, says former MP Hashem |url=https://bdnews24.com/politics/politics-is-not-the-only-way-to-serve-the-country-says-former-mp-hashem |access-date=7 July 2020 |work=bdnews24.com |date=27 December 2016}}</ref>

In January 1992, [[United Commercial Bank Ltd|United Commercial Bank]] provided a 200 million taka loan to Russel Vegetable Oils Limited, an edible oil refiner. At that time, his wife, Sultana Hashem, and two brothers were directors of United Commercial Bank. Another loan was approved in November 1992 by the bank for the refinery for 4.5 million taka. The loan was rescheduled 4 times until 2000. The bank then sued the company to get its money back. In 2008, when Hashem and his son, Showkat Aziz Russell, were directors of United Commercial Bank; the bank agreed to settle the case for a payment of 50 million taka. Hashem is a founding member of United Commercial Bank and has served as the chairman for five years. He is also a founding member of [[The City Bank]] and has served as the chairperson for five years.<ref>{{Cite news |date=9 September 2017 |title=Bank bends rules for its directors |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/frontpage/bank-bends-rules-its-directors-1459519 |access-date=7 July 2020 |work=The Daily Star |language=en}}</ref>

On 8 April 2011, A Dhaka court framed charges against Hashem and eight members of his family and employees on a tax evasion case. The case was filed by National Board of Revenue, which accused them of dodging 5.97 billion taka in taxes from 2006 to 2008. Hashem and the other accused pleaded not guilty and demanded justice before the court. The two-year period that Hashem was accused of evading tax (2006-2008) is also the same two-year period of the [[2006–08 Bangladeshi political crisis|2006-2008 Bangladesh political crises]].<ref name="ds8Apr2011">{{Cite news |date=8 April 2011 |title=Hashem family indicted for tax evasion |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-180955 |access-date=7 July 2020 |work=The Daily Star |language=en}}</ref>

In 2020, the International Finance Corporation or IFC of the World Bank Group published a report on the private sector in Bangladesh featuring 23 of Bangladesh's top companies based on revenue, Hashem's conglomerate Partex Group was on that list.<ref name="tbs24Dec2020">{{Cite news |date=24 December 2020 |title=MA Hashem: A legacy spanned from supplier to multi-industrialist |url=http://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/obituary/ma-hashem-legacy-spanned-supplier-multi-industrialist-176173 |access-date=16 June 2021 |work=The Business Standard |language=en}}</ref>

Hashem joined the board of trustees of [[IBAIS University]] in 2013.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2 April 2013 |title=MA Hashem joins IBAIS University Trustee Board |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/news/ma-hashem-joins-ibais-university-trustee-board |access-date=7 July 2020 |work=The Daily Star |language=en}}</ref> He is a founding member of [[North South University]] and also sits on the trustee board.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Governance contest inaugurated at NSU |url=https://www.newagebd.net/article/100576/governance-contest-inaugurated-at-nsu |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=7 July 2020 |work=New Age |language=en}}</ref> In 2019, he became the chairperson of the board of the university.<ref>{{Cite news |date=26 April 2019 |title=8th International HR Conference held at NSU |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/next-step/news/8th-international-hr-conference-held-nsu-1734751 |access-date=7 July 2020 |work=The Daily Star |language=en}}</ref>

Having come from a modest background himself, Hashem has set up numerous charitable organisations and is widely acknowledged for his philanthropic work.<ref name="tbs24Dec2020" /> He has schools, hospitals, and other non-profit organisations in [[Noakhali District|Noakhali]].<ref name="tbs24Dec2020" />

== Personal life ==
Hashem was married to Sultana Hashem.<ref>{{cite news |title=Partex Group splits |url=http://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-145603 |work=The Daily Star |access-date=22 September 2016 |date=5 July 2010}}</ref> They had five sons — Aziz Al Kaiser, Aziz Al Mahmood, Aziz Al Masud, Rubel Aziz and Showkat Aziz Russell.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Partex chairman's son, former RAJUK chairman land in jail on graft charges |url=https://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/partex-chairman-s-son-and-former-rajuk-chairman-land-in-jail-on-graft-charges |access-date=7 July 2020 |work=bdnews24.com |date=9 February 2017}}</ref><ref name="ds8Apr2011" />

===Death===
Hashem died from [[COVID-19]] on 24 December 2020, at the [[Evercare Hospital Dhaka|Evercare Hospital]] in [[Dhaka]]. He was 77 years old.<ref name=death/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hashem, M. A.}}
[[Category:1943 births]]
[[Category:2020 deaths]]
[[Category:Bangladeshi chairpersons of corporations]]
[[Category:Bangladesh Nationalist Party politicians]]
[[Category:8th Jatiya Sangsad members]]
[[Category:Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh]]
[[Category:People from Sonaimuri Upazila]]
[[Category:Politicians from Chittagong Division]]
[[Category:Government College of Commerce, Chittagong alumni]]

M. A. Hashem - Revision history

Pandit debotosh dey at 14:20, 6 July 2025