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Dipu Moni

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Dipu Moni (born 8 December 1965)[1] is a Bangladeshi politician and former minister of social welfare. She was a member of parliament for the Chandpur-3 constituency.[2] She was minister of education in the fourth Hasina ministry and minister of foreign affairs in the second Hasina ministry. She was appointed as the first female foreign minister of Bangladesh on 6 January 2009, serving until 2013. Currently she is Joint secretary of the Bangladesh Awami League.[3]

Dipu Moni
দীপু মনি
Moni in 2021
Minister of Social Welfare
In office
11 January 2024 – 6 August 2024
Prime MinisterSheikh Hasina
Preceded byNuruzzaman Ahmed
Succeeded bySharmeen Murshid
Member of Parliament
In office
25 January 2009 – 6 August 2024
Preceded byG. M. Fazlul Haque
ConstituencyChandpur-3
Minister of Education
In office
7 January 2019 – 11 January 2024
Prime MinisterSheikh Hasina
Preceded byNurul Islam Nahid
Succeeded byMohibul Hasan Chowdhury
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
30 January 2009 – 20 November 2013
Prime MinisterSheikh Hasina
Preceded byIftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury
Succeeded byAbul Hassan Mahmud Ali
Personal details
Born (1965-12-08) 8 December 1965 (age 58)
Chandpur, East Pakistan, Pakistan
Political partyBangladesh Awami League
SpouseTawfique Nawaz
Parents
Alma mater
ProfessionDoctor & Lawyer

Early life

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Dipu Moni was born on 8 December 1965[1] in the village of Kamranga in Chandpur, Comilla district, East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).[citation needed] Her father, Mohammad Abdul Wadud, was a founding member of the Awami League and known especially for his role in the Language Movement and as the first Council-elected General Secretary of the East Pakistan Chhatra League. Moni passed HSC from Holy Cross College, Dhaka. Her mother, Begum Rahima, was a teacher. Her brother, Jawadur Rahim Wadud Tipu, is a diabetic foot surgeon.[4]

Moni studied MBBS at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital and LLB at Bangladesh National University. She later earned a Master's in Public Health at Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, and Master of Laws at the University of London as an external student.[5][6] She completed a course on negotiations and conflict resolutions from Harvard University. She is a lawyer of Bangladesh Supreme Court.

Political career

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Moni with Hillary Clinton
 
Moni meeting John Kerry

Moni was the secretary for women's affairs and a member of the sub‐committee on foreign affairs of the Bangladesh Awami League before her induction to the cabinet. She represented Chandpur‐3 as a member of the Bangladesh Parliament.

Moni was the secretary for women's affairs and a member of the sub‐committee on foreign affairs of the Bangladesh Awami League before her induction to the cabinet.[7]

She worked for women's rights and entitlements, health legislation, health policy and management, health financing, strategic planning, and health and human rights under the Constitution and law in Bangladesh's economic and social development programmes and foreign policy issues of the region and globally.[8][9]

As a minister of foreign affairs she has represented her government's position to the cabinet ministers and public representatives of Asia, Europe and the US, ambassadors and senior representatives of international institutions. As the foreign minister she sought an apology for the 1971 Bangladesh Genocide from Pakistan.[10] She also tried to bring the absconding killers of president Sheikh Mujib.[11] Moni is the Awami League joint general secretary.[12] She was elected chairman of Asian University for Women in 2016.[13] She was the chairperson of the parliamentary committee on foreign affairs in the last parliament.[14]

During the 2024 Bangladesh quota reform movement, Dipu Moni stated that "Those who introduce themselves as Razakars have no right to hold the blood-stained red and green flag of our Liberation War martyrs or to march with that flag tied to their foreheads".[15]

Criticisms

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Overseas visits

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As the minister of foreign affairs, Moni was widely criticized by different news media because of her frequent overseas visits. According to some news reports, she made 187 foreign trips and 600 days of overseas stay in four and a half years.[16][17][18] Moni responded that she went abroad every time with the approval of the prime minister. She said that she made 114 foreign tours, including 36 with the president and the prime minister and claimed that the number of her bilateral visits was 62, not 17 as reported.[18]

Corruption allegations, increase of wealth

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According to affidavits submitted to the election office, since the Awami League party came to power in 2008, her personal net worth has increased by over 4,000% in 15 years.[19][20][21] On 19 August 2024, the Daily Star reported that Dipu Moni was being investigated on alleged corruption allegations.[22]

Illegal sand extraction

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On 25 October 2023, The Daily Star reported an investigation into illegal sand mining in Chandpur, raising concerns over Dipu Moni's alleged involvement in supporting the operations of Selim Khan, a local Awami League leader. Reports suggest that Khan, despite facing multiple charges of illegal sand extraction, continued his operations with the help of letters (Demi Official letters) written by Dipu Moni between 2015 and 2021 to various government bodies, including the Prime Minister's Office. These letters advocated for Khan's companies to be granted permission for sand extraction, despite a ban in place since 2023. Critics argue that Dipu Moni's political influence enabled Khan to evade legal repercussions and amass significant wealth from these activities. Dipu Moni, however, denies any wrongdoing, asserting that her letters were intended to promote legal sand extraction to prevent river erosion.[23][24]

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On 15 August 2024, a case was filed against 510 known and 1,000-1,200 unnamed people affiliated with the Awami League for their alleged involvement in an arson attack on the residence of the district leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party in Chandpur on 18 July that included Moni and her brother JR Wadud Tipu.[25] She was subsequently arrested on 19 August.[26] On 20 August, another case was filed against her and her brother for their alleged involvement in an attack on student protesters during the non-cooperation movement (2024) in Chandpur on 4 August.[27]

Personal life

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Moni is married to Tawfique Nawaz,[28] a senior advocate of the Bangladesh Supreme court.

Moni's residence in Chandpur was vandalized after the resignation of PM Sheikh Hasina in the non-cooperation movement (2024).[29][30]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Constituency 262_10th_Bn". Bangaldesh Parkliament. Archived from the original on 2 May 2020. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  2. ^ "New faces crowd cabinet of 47 members". bdnews24.com. 6 January 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  3. ^ "Dipu Moni new chairperson of AUW". The Daily Star. 2 March 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  4. ^ চাঁদপুরে আনন্দের বন্যা 'দীপু আপা শিক্ষামন্ত্রী হয়েছেন' এ কথা সবার মুখে মুখে. Jugantor (in Bengali). 7 January 2019. Archived from the original on 30 January 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  5. ^ Smith, Mike. "Public Health Travels in South Asia - Departments - Johns Hopkins Public Health Magazine". magazine.jhsph.edu. Archived from the original on 31 May 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  6. ^ "Dipu Moni". bdnews24.com (Opinion). 25 July 2011. Archived from the original on 24 April 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  7. ^ "Dipu Moni - Agenda Contributor". World Economic Forum.
  8. ^ "Human Rights Council – Universal Periodic Review".
  9. ^ "Presenting Bangladesh to the rest of the world".
  10. ^ "Dipu Moni seeks Pak apology for 1971, Khar prefers moving on". Firstpost. 9 November 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  11. ^ "One killer safe in US with political asylum". The Daily Star. 15 August 2015. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  12. ^ "Dipu Moni: BNP has restored to falsehood". The Financial Express. Dhaka. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  13. ^ "Dipu Moni elected AUW chairman". Prothom Alo. Archived from the original on 2 March 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  14. ^ "Bangladesh crucial to India's Northeast: Dipu Moni". bdnews24.com. 10 July 2014. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  15. ^ "The 'Razakar' back and forth: Who said what?". The Daily Star. 15 July 2024. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  16. ^ "Dipu Moni slammed over foreign trips". The Daily Ittefaq. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  17. ^ Dipu Moni's foreign trips galore
  18. ^ a b "Dipu Moni blasts media reports". The Daily Star. 22 July 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  19. ^ "Dipu Moni's income soars by 4,000% in 15 years". The Business Standard. 12 December 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  20. ^ "Dipu Moni's income increases 41 times". Prothom Alo. 12 December 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  21. ^ "Dipu Moni arrested in murder case". The Business Standard. 19 August 2024. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  22. ^ Nandy, Dipan (20 August 2024). "Corruption allegations: ACC to investigate 41 ex-ministers, MPs". The Daily Star. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  23. ^ Hossain, Sajjad (25 October 2023). "Of illegal sand lifting and Dipu Moni's 15 letters". The Daily Star. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  24. ^ "Chandpur minister siding with illegal sand lifters". The Daily Star. 25 September 2023. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  25. ^ "Dipu Moni, her brother sued for attacking BNP leader's house in Chandpur". Dhaka Tribune. 15 August 2024. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  26. ^ "Dipu Moni detained". Dhaka Tribune. 19 August 2024. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  27. ^ "Another case filed against Dipu Moni in Chandpur". Dhaka Tribune. 21 August 2024. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  28. ^ "HC summons Dipu Moni's husband". The Daily Star. 23 April 2014. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  29. ^ "Social Welfare Minister Dipu Moni's home attacked in Chandpur amid anti-government protests". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
  30. ^ "Houses of ministers, MPs attacked, torched". Prothom Alo. 5 August 2024.
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