Md Ismail Zabihullah
With the rank of a minister · Not an MP
Profile
Md. Ismail Zabihullah is the Prime Minister's Adviser on the Ministry of Public Administration, with the rank of a Minister. A former secretary, Zabihullah retired in 2008 after working in the administration for about three and a half decades; since 15 August 2026 he has been a member of the BNP's national standing committee. He is not a member of parliament.
He was born in 1950 in South Char Kadira village, Char Kadira union, Kamalnagar upazila, in present-day Lakshmipur district (then Noakhali); his father is Sujauddin Ahmed. He was twelfth on the merit list of the Cumilla Board in the SSC in 1965 and third in the HSC in 1967. From the University of Dhaka he obtained a BA (Honours) in English literature in 1970, an MA in 1973 and later an LLB.
He began his career in 1973 as a lecturer in English at Chowmuhani College and taught at Noakhali Government College until 1976. Having passed the first regular civil service examination after independence, he joined the administration in 1977 as an assistant commissioner in Chattogram. He was a metropolitan magistrate in Dhaka, upazila nirbahi officer of Bhuapur (1986) and deputy commissioner of Faridpur; he also served as private secretary to the ministers for communications, home affairs, local government and health. He was a joint secretary at the Election Commission, an additional secretary in the Economic Relations Division and, in 2005-06, chairman of IDCOL and IIFC. As a secretary he served in the Economic Relations Division and the Ministry of Shipping.
After retirement he became involved in BNP politics and became a member of the chairperson's advisory council, and in the 2026 election he was chief coordinator of the party's election management committee. He is registered as a lawyer of the Supreme Court; he is associated with the board of trustees of Eastern University, and in 2026 he was nominated a member of the standing committee of the International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP).
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.