Mohammad Abdul Hamid

Mohammad Abdul Hamid (born 1 January 1944) is a Bangladeshi retired politician, lawyer and statesman who served as the President of Bangladesh from 2013 to 2023, making him the longest serving president in the country's history. A political career spanning more than six decades, he was a lifelong affiliate of the Awami League, and was elected a member of parliament (MP) in Pakistan and independent Bangladesh for seven terms. He previously served as the Speaker of the Jatiya Sangsad in 2001 and from 2009 to 2013, Deputy Speaker from 1996 to 2001, and Deputy Leader of the Opposition from 2001 to 2006.

Born in the Haor-prone area of Kishoreganj, he joined student politics in the wake of Bengali nationalism against Pakistan via the East Pakistan Chhatra League in 1959. He joined the Awami League (AL) a decade later and was elected as the youngest member of the National Assembly in the 1970 Pakistani general election. After President Yahya Khan postponed the assembly, Hamid spearheaded the March non-cooperation movement in Kishoreganj, and actively participated and organised the Bangladesh Liberation War. After the Independence of Bangladesh, he was elected as a MP in 1973, but was imprisoned after the 15 August coup and the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. After his release in 1978, he remained active in AL politics, elected as a MP in 1986, 1991, 1996, 2001 and 2008; and was appointed to various senior posts in the parliament and within the party, mainly by the choice of Sheikh Hasina. As speaker, he served as the acting president during and after the illness and death of Zillur Rahman in 2013. He was then elected unopposed in the 2013 presidential election.

As per the twelfth amendment of the Bangladeshi constitution passed after the 1990 mass-uprising, the role of the president is largely ceremonial. He was re-elected in 2018, making him the country's first president to be re-elected. After serving for a total 10 years and 41 days, his tenure ended in 2023 and he was succeeded by Mohammed Shahabuddin. In his last day of presidency, he told journalists that he will retire from active politics, and taking any more position would be "humiliating the people of this country".

He is noted for leading a simplistic lifestyle, even during his time in Bangabhaban. His is also known for his witty, humorous approach, with his speeches as president, mainly as chancellor of universities in Bangladesh becoming widely popular. Some of his remarks, however, were deemed sexist by some. As president, he oversaw the controversial 2014 and 2018 parliamentary elections, and signed many criticised bills and decisions passed by the AL-led parliaments and the Hasina government, and controversially commuted some serious convicts from their sentences. However, he remained comparatively accepted across the political spectrum.

After the July Uprising and the fall of Hasina's increasingly authoritarian government, Hamid was often described as a potential new leadership for the AL, though it was never confirmed by any sides. As part of the cases filed en-masse against AL and previous government affiliates, his name was also included in a murder case. On 8 May 2025, news emerged of his sudden departure to Thailand in the midnight "for medical treatment" after months of silence, triggering large hue and cry from National Citizen Party (NCP) and other pro-July socio-political platforms. Home Adviser of the Interim government Jahangir Alam Chowdhury announced drastic measures, including attempts to issue Interpol notice for Hamid. Selina Hayat Ivy, former Mayor of Narayanganj, who was one of the few AL leaders to stay in their homes after the uprising and was considered to be of "clean image" like Hamid, was arrested despite the protests of hundreds of locals against it. As tensions grew, Adviser Asif Mahmud announced plans to ban AL-affiliated Jubo League and Swechchhasebak League. On the midnight of 9 May, demonstrations demanding a complete ban on AL started in the leadership of NCP in front of Jamuna, the residence of Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, and then a blockade of Shahbag where Jamaat-e-Islami joined the protests, in a symbolic retaliation to 2013 Shahbag movement. On 10 May, the government eventually announced a total ban on all activities of Awami League and all it's related organisations, even restricting "expression of support". Hamid eventually returned to Bangladesh a month later, trashing all allegations of fleeing, and the government took a u-turn not arresting him saying "no innocent will should be prosecuted".