Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has kept crucial portfolios of defence, home and foreign affairs with herself as she distributed portfolios among her new Cabinet members. She is also in charge of cabinet division, public administration and armed forces division
According to a cabinet division statement, issued hours after the swearing in of the new government on Sunday, Ms. Hasina will also keep the ministries that have no ministers and ministers of state.
Ms. Hasina dropped several of her previous ministers, including Foreign Minister Dipu Moni, Home Minister Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir and minister without portfolio Suranjit Sengupta, a minority leader.
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Only 15 of the 51 ministers and state ministers retained their positions in the new government as Ms. Hasina brought back several veteran leaders who were sidelined in her previous government.
She inducted at least 23 new faces, including first time MP advocate Anisul Haq, who led the state in the assassination trial of Bangladesh’s founder Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Hasina’s father.
Mr. Haq was given the law portfolio while among the senior party veterans Tofail Ahmed was entrusted with the charge of commerce, Amir Hossain Amu with industry and Mohammad Nasim with health.
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Mr. Ahmed and Mr. Amu were also in the poll-time multi-party interim government during the past three months and were re-inducted in the new government.
Abul Maal Abdul Muhith will retain his earlier finance ministry, Matia Chowdhury agriculture, Syed Ashraful Islam local government, Nurul Islam Nahid education, Obaidul Quader communications, Mazibul Haq railways, Shajahan Khan shipping and Khandker Mosharraf Hossain expatriates’ welfare