Chief Adviser of Bangladesh

The Chief Adviser of Bangladesh, officially the Chief Adviser of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is the chief executive of the caretaker and the interim government of Bangladesh, who serves as the head of government during the transition period between one elected government and another. With powers roughly equivalent to those of the prime minister of an elected government, their executive power is limited by the constitution. The chief adviser leads an advisory committee comprising several advisers (equivalent to a minister), all of them selected from among politically neutral individuals to be acceptable to all major political parties. The office of the chief adviser is called Chief Adviser's Office.

Chief Adviser of the People's Republic of Bangladesh
গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশের প্রধান উপদেষ্টা
Seal of the chief adviser
Standard of the chief adviser
Incumbent Muhammad Yunus since 8 August 2024
Government of Bangladesh Chief Adviser's Office Cabinet Division
Style	Mr. Chief Adviser (informal) The Honorable (formal) His Excellency (diplomatic)
Type	Head of government
Abbreviation	CA
Member of	Cabinet Armed Forces Division Planning Commission Intelligence Community National Committee on Security Affairs
Reports to	President of Bangladesh
Residence	State Guest House Jamuna
Seat	Primary: Chief Adviser's Office, Old Sangsad Bhaban, Tejgaon, Dhaka Secondary: Bangladesh Secretariat, Segunbagicha, Dhaka
Appointer	President of Bangladesh
Term length	Until the next general election in Bangladesh takes place
Constituting instrument	Constitution of Bangladesh
Precursor	Prime Minister of Bangladesh
Inaugural holder	Muhammad Habibur Rahman
Formation	30 March 1996; 29 years ago (1996-03-30)
Salary	৳305000 (US$2,500) per month (incl. allowances)
Website	cao.gov.bd

History

The caretaker government system of Bangladesh was introduced in March 1996 through the passage of the 13th amendment to the constitution. The system was formed to hold parliamentary elections after the election in February conducted by the Khaleda Zia government was widely boycotted by the opposition parties. The amendment recommended making the last retired chief justice the chief adviser. In 1996, Justice Muhammad Habibur Rahman was appointed the chief adviser of the caretaker government. Along with the President of Bangladesh, Abdur Rahman Biswas, prevented the 1996 Bangladesh coup d'état attempt. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party had some difficult appointing a Chief adviser to the caretaker government which led to the 2006–08 Bangladeshi political crisis. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party appointed President Iajuddin Ahmed the chief adviser to the caretaker government, but he faced demands for resignation from Bangladesh Awami League. Iajuddin Ahmed was replaced by Fakhruddin Ahmed. During the crisis, the military-backed caretaker government was led by Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed. Fakhruddin Ahmed appointed three special assistants to himself who were given the rank of a state minister. The assistants were Barrister Debashis Roy, Brigadier-General M. A. Malek, and Professor M Tamim. There was some debate about the constitutional validity of the assistant to the chief advisers.

The caretaker government system was scrapped along with the 13th amendment in 2011 through the passage of the 15th amendment of the constitution to allow the elected government to conduct any general election in the future, with the chief justice of Bangladesh, A.B.M. Khairul Haque, declaring the caretaker government system illegal and unconstitutional. Following the High Court's verdict, several sections of the Fifteenth Amendment were scrapped on 17 December 2024, restoring the caretaker system.

The office was restored in 2024 under the extra-constitutional setup of an interim government, following the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Composition of the non-party caretaker government

Non-party caretaker government shall consist of the chief adviser at its head and ten or fewer other advisers, all of whom shall be appointed by the president.
The chief adviser and other advisers shall be appointed within fifteen days after Parliament is dissolved or stands dissolved, and during the period between the date on which Parliament is dissolved or stands dissolved and the date on which the chief adviser is appointed, the prime minister and his cabinet who were in office immediately before Jatiya Sangsad (Parliament) was dissolved or stood dissolved shall continue to hold office as such.
The president shall appoint as chief adviser the person who among the retired chief justices retired last and who is qualified to be appointed as an adviser under this article: Provided that if such retired chief justice is not available or is not willing to hold the office of chief adviser, the president shall appoint as chief adviser the person who among the retired chief justice of Bangladesh retired next before the last retired chief justice.
If no retired chief justice is available or willing to hold the office of chief adviser, the president shall appoint as chief adviser the person who among the retired judges of the Appellate Division retired last and who is qualified to be appointed as an adviser under this article: Provided that if such retired judge is not available or is not willing to hold the office of chief adviser, the president shall appoint as chief adviser the person who among the retired judges of the Appellate Division retired next before the last such retired judge.
If no retired judge of the Appellate Division is available or willing to hold the office of chief adviser, the president shall, after consultation, as far as practicable, with the major political parties, appoint the chief adviser from among citizens of Bangladesh who are qualified to be appointed as advisers under this article.
Notwithstanding anything contained in this chapter, if the provisions of clauses (3), (4) and (5) cannot be given effect to, the president shall assume the functions of the chief adviser of the non-party caretaker government in addition to his functions under this Constitution.
The president shall appoint advisers from among the persons who are
1. qualified for election as members of parliament;
2. not members of any political party or any organisation associated with or affiliated to any political party;
3. not, and have agreed in writing not to be, candidates for the ensuing election of members of parliament;
4. not over seventy-two years of age.
The advisers shall be appointed by the president on the advice of the chief adviser.
The chief adviser or an adviser may resign his office by writing under his hand addressed to the president.
The chief adviser or an adviser shall cease to be chief adviser or adviser if he is disqualified to be appointed as such under this article.
The chief adviser shall have the status, and shall be entitled to the remuneration and privileges, of a prime minister, and an adviser shall have the status, and shall be entitled to the remuneration and privileges, of a minister.
The non-party caretaker government shall stand dissolved on the date on which the prime minister enters upon his office after the constitution of the new parliament.

Chief Adviser's Office

The Chief Adviser's Office (CAO) (Bengali: প্রধান উপদেষ্টার কার্যালয়, romanized: Prôdhān Upôdēṣṭār Kārjālôẏ) is the official workplace of the Chief Adviser of Bangladesh during an interim or caretaker government. Its the office of the Head of Government of Bangladesh during an interim or caretaker government. Its equivalent to the Prime Minister's Office during an elected government.

It represents the executive branch of the Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh during an interim or caretaker government. The location of the CAO is in Tejgaon, Dhaka.

Headquarters

Following the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, an Interim government led by Muhammad Yunus was formed on 8 August 2024. During the initial days of the interim government, Jamuna State Guest House acted as the Chief Adviser's Office as the Prime Minister's Office at Tejgaon was vandalised on 5 August 2024 as the result of July Revolution. After a 15 days repair work, the office was restored and converted into the Chief Adviser's Office.

Organizations under Chief Adviser's Office

The following is the list of organizations under CAO:

Sub-regional Co-operation Cell (SRCC)
Governance Innovation Unit (GIU)
Private Export Processing Zone (PEPZ)
NGO Affairs Bureau
Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA)
Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Authority (BEPZA)
Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA)
Public-Private Partnership Authority (PPPA)
National Skills Development Authority (NSDA)
Special Security Force (SSF)
National Security Intelligence (NSI)

Special Positions Under the Chief Adviser's Office in the Yunus Ministry

Below is the list of Special Positions Under the Chief Adviser's Office in the Yunus Ministry.

Name	Position	Status Equivalent to	Date of Appointment	Date of Termination	Career Highlights
Shafiqul Alam	Press Secretary to the Chief Adviser	Secretary (till 17 February 2025) Senior Secretary (from 18 February 2025)	13 August 2024	Currently in Office	Journalist and Bangladesh Bureau Chief of Agence France-Presse (AFP)
Lamiya Morshed	Principal Coordinator for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Affairs	Senior Secretary	14 August 2024	Currently in Office	Executive Director of Yunus Centre and Grameen Healthcare Trust
Abdul Hafiz	Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser on Defence and National Solidarity Development	Adviser	22 August 2024	Currently in Office	Retired Lieutenant General of Bangladesh Army
Lutfey Siddiqi	Special Envoy on International Affairs to the Chief Adviser	Adviser	4 September 2024	Currently in Office	Professor in Practice, London School of Economics and Political Science Adjunct Professor, National University of Singapore
Khalilur Rahman	High Representative to the Chief Adviser on Rohingya Issue and Priority Matters (till 8 April 2025) National Security Adviser and High Representative to the Chief Adviser on Rohingya Issue (from 9 April 2025)	Adviser	19 November 2024	Currently in Office	Former Head of Economic, Social and Development Affairs of Executive Office of the Secretary-General of the United Nations Member, Board of Trustees, East West University
Monir Haidar	Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser on Consensus Building	Senior Secretary	6 February 2025	Currently in Office	Journalist
Ashik Chowdhury	Executive Chairman, Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) and Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA)	Senior Secretary (till 6 April 2025) Minister of State (from 6 April 2025)	12 September 2024	Currently in Office	Chartered Financial Analyst
Ali Riaz	Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser	Adviser	12 November 2025	Currently in Office	Political scientist and Writer Distinguished Professor, Department of Politics and Government,Illinois State University Head of Constitutional Reform Commission

List of chief advisers of Bangladesh

There have been 5 chief advisers of Bangladesh so far.

#	Name (Birth–Death)	Entered office	Left office	Tenure	Advisor Council
Caretaker government of Bangladesh
1	Muhammad Habibur Rahman (1928–2014)	30 March 1996	23 June 1996	85 days	Habibur
2	Latifur Rahman (1936–2017)	15 July 2001	10 October 2001	87 days	Latifur
3	Iajuddin Ahmed (1931–2012) President	29 October 2006	11 January 2007	74 days	Iajuddin
4	Fakhruddin Ahmed (1940–)	12 January 2007	6 January 2009	1 year, 360 days (with military support)	Fakhruddin
Interim government of Bangladesh
5	Muhammad Yunus (1940–)	8 August 2024	Incumbent	1 year, 121 days	Yunus

Notes

Bengali: বাংলাদেশের প্রধান উপদেষ্টা, romanized: Baṅladeśer Prôdhan Upôdeśta
Bengali: গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশের প্রধান উপদেষ্টা, romanized: Gôṇôprôjatôntri Baṅladeśer Prôdhan Upôdeśta, IPA: [ˈɡɔnoˌpɾodʒaˌt̪ɔnt̪ɾiˑ ˈbaŋlaˌd̪eʃeɾ ˈpɾɔd̪ʱan ˈupoˌd̪eʃt̪aˑ]

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[1] Bengali: বাংলাদেশের প্রধান উপদেষ্টা, romanized: Baṅladeśer Prôdhan Upôdeśta

[2] Bengali: গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশের প্রধান উপদেষ্টা, romanized: Gôṇôprôjatôntri Baṅladeśer Prôdhan Upôdeśta, IPA: [ˈɡɔnoˌpɾodʒaˌt̪ɔnt̪ɾiˑ ˈbaŋlaˌd̪eʃeɾ ˈpɾɔd̪ʱan ˈupoˌd̪eʃt̪aˑ]