Syed Mahmud Hossain

This article is about the 22nd Chief Justice of Bangladesh. For the second Chief Justice of Bangladesh, see Syed A. B. Mahmud Hossain.

Syed Mahmud Hossain (born 31 December 1954)^[1] was a Bangladeshi lawyer and judge who served as the 22nd Chief Justice of Bangladesh.^[2][3] He retired from the post of Chief Justice on 30 December 2021.^[4]

The Honourable Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain
সৈয়দ মাহমুদ হোসেন
Hossain in January 2020
22nd Chief Justice of Bangladesh
In office 2 February 2018 – 30 December 2021
Appointed by	Abdul Hamid
President	Abdul Hamid
Prime Minister	Sheikh Hasina
Preceded by	Surendra Kumar Sinha Md. Abdul Wahhab Miah (as acting)
Succeeded by	Hasan Foez Siddique
Personal details
Born	(1954-12-31) 31 December 1954 (age 70)
Nationality	Bangladeshi
Alma mater	University of Chittagong
Profession	Judge

Early life and education

Hossain was born in 1954 to Syed Mustafa Ali (d. 2018) and Begum Kawsar Jahan.^[5] His father Late Syed Mustafa Ali was a prominent lawyer in Comilla town. Hossain completed secondary school certificate from Comilla Zilla School, Higher Secondary from Comilla Victoria College and B.Sc from the same college under University of Chittagong in 1972, 1974 and 1976 respectively. In 1980, he obtained LL.B degree from Comilla Law College under the University of Chittagong. He completed six-month post graduate diploma in "Commonwealth Young Lawyers Course" from the School of Oriental African Studies and the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, both part of University of London.^[2]

Career

In 1981, Hossain started practicing law in the District Judge Court.^[2][6] Then he joined as an advocate in the High Court Division in 1983. He was appointed as a deputy attorney general in 1999.^[7] He was appointed as Additional Justice of the High Court Division on 22 February 2001 and two years later, on 22 February 2003, the permanent appointment was made. On 23 February 2011, he was appointed as the Appellate Division's Justice. He was the chairman of the search committee formed to form the Election Commission twice.^[8] Hossain is a strong supporter of country's Digital Security Act. In a verdict made on 6 March 2021, Hossain cautioned that there would be no consideration of bail for people who would tarnish the image of Bangladesh in any manner. He argued that this is because the first priority is the image of the country.^{[9][10][11][12]}