Tarique Rahman’s 50-Member Cabinet Has 41 First-Time Members

BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman has formed a 50-member cabinet after the party’s landslide victory in the 13th National Parliament election. The cabinet took oath yesterday (Thursday) afternoon. It consists of 25 full ministers and 24 state ministers.

Among the 25 full ministers, 9 have prior experience as ministers, state ministers, or deputy ministers in earlier BNP governments (1991 and 2001). The remaining 16 full ministers are serving in a cabinet for the first time. All 24 state ministers are also first-timers in any cabinet role.

In total, 41 members of the 50-member cabinet (including Prime Minister Tarique Rahman himself) are serving in a cabinet for the first time. Nine first-time MPs have been directly appointed as full ministers. They are Abdul Awal Mintu (Feni-3), Abu Jafar Md Zahid Hossain (Dinajpur-6), Khandaker Abdul Muktadir (Sylhet-1), Ariful Haq Chowdhury (Sylhet-4), Afroza Khanam (Manikganj-3), Md Asaduzzaman (Jhenaidah-1), Dipen Dewan (Rangamati), Fakir Mahbub Anam (Tangail-1), and Sheikh Robiul Alam (Dhaka-10).

Three technocrats (non-MPs) are in the cabinet: Dr Khalilur Rahman and Mohammad Amin Ur Rashid as full ministers, and Aminul Haq (former national football captain, who lost in Dhaka-16) as state minister. The cabinet includes three women: full minister Afroza Khanam (Manikganj-3) and state ministers Shama Obaed (Faridpur-2) and Farzana Sharmin (Natore-1), all first-time MPs.