Altaf Hossain Chowdhury

Not to be confused with Altaf Hossain Chowdhury (Faridpur politician).

Altaf Hossain Chowdhury is a former chief of Bangladesh Air Force and a Bangladesh Nationalist Party politician.^[2] He served as the minister of home affairs and commerce from 2001 to 2006.^[3][4] He was a Jatiya Sangsad member representing Patuakhali-1 constituency in the same period.^[5]

Air Vice Marshal Altaf Hossain Chowdhury
Chowdhury in 2004
8th Chief of Air Staff
In office 4 June 1991 – 3 June 1995
President	Shahabuddin Ahmed (acting) Abdur Rahman Biswas
Prime Minister	Khaleda Zia
Preceded by	Momtaz Uddin Ahmed
Succeeded by	Jamal Uddin Ahmed
Minister of Home Affairs
In office 10 October 2001 – 25 March 2004
Prime Minister	Khaleda Zia
Preceded by	Mohammed Nasim
Succeeded by	Sahara Khatun
Minister of Commerce
In office 25 March 2004 – 24 April 2006
Prime Minister	Khaleda Zia
Preceded by	Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury
Succeeded by	Hafizuddin Ahmed
Member of Parliament for Patuakhali-1
In office 28 October 2001 – 27 October 2006
Preceded by	Shahjahan Mia
Succeeded by	Shahjahan Mia
Personal details
Born	1942 or 1943 (age 82–83)[1]
Political party	Bangladesh Nationalist Party
Military service
Allegiance	Pakistan (before 1972)  Bangladesh
Branch/service	Pakistan Air Force  Bangladesh Air Force
Years of service	1963–1995
Rank	Air Vice Marshal
Unit	No. 5 Squadron PAF No. 10 Squadron
Commands	Commandant of Bangladesh Air Force Academy Director of Directorate General of Defence Purchase AOC of BAF Base Matiur Rahman ACAS (Administration) at Air Headquarters Chief of Air Staff

Career

Military

Chowdhury started his career as a fighter pilot in the Pakistan Air Force, qualifying as a lead pilot in the Dassault Mirage III. In 1971, he was a flight lieutenant. He joined the Bangladesh Air Force in 1972 as a squadron leader after being released from detention by Pakistan. Between 1974 and 1977 he was instructor at the pilot training school. He was the chief of Bangladesh Air Force from 1991 to 1995.

Political

After retiring from military service in 1995, he joined the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.^[1] He went on to serve as a minister of different ministries and a member of the Jatiya Sangsad (parliament) during the BNP-Jamaat administration from 2001 until 2006.

Chowdhury served as the president of Patuakhali district BNP in 2008.^[6] He lost both the 2008 and 2018 general elections to the Awami League candidate Shahjahan Mia.^[7][8] As of 2016, Chowdhury was vice-chairman of the party.^[9]

Charges

Chowdhury was taken into custody of joint forces in May 2007 during the caretaker government's reign.^[1][10] The force seized a shotgun and a rifle, 99 bullets, 970 pieces of saree and 160 pieces of lungi of the government relief materials from his Patuakhali residence.^[11]

On 18 December 2007, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed a case against Chowdhury for concealing wealth information and amassing wealth worth beyond known sources of income.^[12] In April 2017, the High Court cleared the way for a lower court to resume the trial proceedings.^[13][14]

On 26 February 2008, the ACC filed another case accusing Khaleda Zia and 10 of her former cabinet members, including Chowdhury, of taking bribes in the Barapukuria coalmine deal. In December 2017, the High Court asked Chowdhury to surrender to a lower court within four weeks in this case.^[15]

On 11 June 2011, Chowdhury and Hafizuddin Ahmed were arrested and sent to jail in connection with an arson case.^[16] They were later freed on bail.^[17]

Personal life

Chowdhury is married to Suriya Chowdhury.^[18] Chowdhury's two brothers, Babul Chowdhury and Shahin Chowdhury, were accused in an armed robbery case in Mirzaganj Upazila in Patuakhali in 2007.^[19]