Iajuddin Ahmed

Became President:	September 6, 2002
Predecessor:	Jamiruddin Sircar
Date of Birth:	February 1, 1931
Place of Birth:	Mushiganj , Bengal

Prof. Iajuddin Ahmed (b. February 1, 1931) is the current President of Bangladesh (since 2002). He was born in Munshiganj , Bengal (now in Bangladesh). His father was Moulvi Ibrahim.

Ahmed received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Wisconsin, and then joined University of Dhaka as an assistant professor in the Department of Soil Science. He moved up in the ranks until he became a full professor in the department. He held the post of chairman of the Soil Science Department of Dhaka University and dean of the Faculty of Biological Science of the same University. He was also provost of Salimullah Muslim Hall. He was responsible for inventing a process of preserving nutrients in the soil and later releasing them according to the needs of the vegetation. Professor Ahmed also worked as visiting professor in Cornell University in 1984 and the German Technical University and Gottingens University of Germany in 1984. Ahmed and his wife, Dr. Anwara Begum, have three children.

Prof. Ahmed was an adviser in the caretaker government in 1991. He was also chairman of the Public Service Commission from 1991 to 1993 and chairman of the University Grants Commission from 1995 to 1999.

His election as President of the Republic was seen as an attempt to infuse the Presidency with stability; he was widely seen as a non-partisan choice acceptable to most of the major political parties.