Brigadier General (retd) Dr AKM Shamsul Islam
With the rank of a state minister · Not an MP
Profile
Brigadier General (retd) Dr A K M Shamsul Islam is Defence Adviser to the Prime Minister, with the rank of a State Minister, in charge of the Ministry of Defence and, since 6 June 2026, of the Armed Forces Division. A retired army officer and security analyst, Shamsul Islam holds a PhD on the country's nuclear security. He is not a member of parliament.
He was born in Nandail upazila, Mymensingh. At school he came first in the district in class eight and received a talent-pool scholarship. After being placed on the board merit lists in the SSC and HSC from Cumilla Cadet College, he obtained a BSc from the University of Chittagong, coming first in the first class. He obtained master's degrees in defence studies from the Defence Services Command and Staff College, in management from Philippine Christian University (with a gold medal), in military technology from Bangladesh University of Professionals and in defence studies from Bangladesh Open University. He later received a PhD on the nuclear security of Bangladesh from Jahangirnagar University. He has received advanced military and strategic training in Bangladesh, Pakistan, the United Kingdom, China, the Philippines, Russia and the United States.
In 1989, after completing the 21st Long Course at the Bangladesh Military Academy, he was commissioned into the army, and he received the Osmani Gold Medal for academic excellence. On United Nations peacekeeping missions he served in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as staff officer to the Force Commander and as deputy contingent commander, and in Iraq as a training expert and adviser. The Awami League government of the time sent him into compulsory retirement from the rank of brigadier general.
After retirement he joined the BNP and taught as an adjunct professor at Independent University, Bangladesh. In 2025 he sought the party's nomination for the Mymensingh-9 (Nandail) seat. On 17 December 2025 he was appointed chief security officer responsible for the security of Khaleda Zia and Tarique Rahman; when Tarique Rahman became Prime Minister, he became his Defence Adviser.
Translated from Bangla. Read the original
Sources: Wikipedia (Bangla), Wikipedia (English); the list of responsibilities is the Cabinet Division’s. Checked up to 16 September 2026. If you see a mistake, let us know.