Sheikh Selim

Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim (born 2 February 1949; known as Sheikh Selim)^[1] is a Bangladeshi politician who was a 9-term Member of Parliament representing the Gopalganj-2 constituency during 1980–2024. He is a presidium member of the Bangladesh Awami League.^[2][3][4] He also served as the minister of health and family welfare during 1999–2001. He has been in hiding ever since the fall of his cousin Sheikh Hasina's government on 5 August 2024.

Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim
শেখ ফজলুল করিম সেলিম
Selim (left) with Sheikh Hasina (right) in Gopalganj in 2023
Member of the Bangladesh Parliament for Gopalganj-2
In office 14 July 1980 – 6 August 2024
Preceded by	Mollah Jalaluddin Ahmed
In office 5 March 1991 – 24 November 1995
Succeeded by	Farid Ahmed
In office 10 July 1986 – 6 December 1987
Preceded by	Position created
Minister of Health and Family Welfare
In office 29 December 1999 – 15 July 2001
Preceded by	Salahuddin Yusuf
Succeeded by	Abdul Malik
Personal details
Born	(1949-02-02) 2 February 1949 (age 76) Gopalganj, East Bengal, Dominion of Pakistan
Nationality	Bangladeshi
Political party	Bangladesh Awami League
Relations	Sheikh Fazlul Haque Mani (brother) Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh (nephew) Andaleeve Rahman Partho (nephew)
Children	Sheikh Fazle Fahim
Relatives	see Tungipara Sheikh family
Profession	Politician

Early life and family

Sheikh Selim is the son of Sheikh Nurul Haque and Sheikh Asia Begum, sister of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, former president of Bangladesh. He is the younger brother of Sheikh Fazlul Haque Mani, founder of the Jubo League.^[5] He is a first-cousin of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina.^[6]

Selim is descended from the Sheikh family of Tungipara from both his parents. His father's grandfather, Qudratullah Sheikh, was the brother of his mother's great-great-grandfather, Ekramullah Sheikh. Sheikh Mujib was both his uncle and nephew, being son of his third-cousin Sheikh Lutfar Rahman.^[7]

Career

Sheikh Selim has won parliamentary elections from Gopalganj-2 nine times with 90% of vote, since 1980.^[8] He served as the minister for health and family welfare in the first Hasina ministry. He has been the chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare Ministry.^[9] He is a presidium member of the Bangladesh Awami League.^[10]

Controversy

On 23 April 2008, the Bangladesh Anti Corruption Commission sued Sheikh Selim for corruption at the Ramna Police Station. He secured bail from the High Court on 16 September 2008.^[11] The High Court, in September, stayed proceeding of the case against Selim. On 24 October 2010, the Supreme Court stayed the High Court order, allowing the case to proceed.^[12]

Following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina led Awami League government, him home in Banani was vandalized and burned down in February 2025.^[13]

Personal life

Selim is married and his in-laws are a zamindar family of Muslim Chowdhuries from Daudkandi. His eldest son Sheikh Fazle Fahim served as president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce & Industries and is married to the daughter of businessman Moosa Bin Shamsher.^[14][15] Another son, Sheikh Nayem, is married to the daughter of BNP politician Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku.^[16] One of Selim's grandsons, Zayan Chowdhary, died in the 2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings. The child's father, Moshiul Haque Chowdhary, was wounded, though his mother, Selim's daughter Sheikh Amina Sultana Sonia, was unharmed.^[17]