Justice Zubayer Rahman made Bangladesh's new Chief Justice

President Mohammed Shahabuddin has appointed Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury as the 26th Chief Justice of Bangladesh.

According to a gazette notification issued by the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs on Tuesday, President Shahabuddin made the appointment exercising his power following Article 95 (1) of the Constitution.

Justice Zubayer is scheduled to take oath as the new Chief Justice on 28 December.

The appointment follows the imminent retirement of the current 25th Chief Justice, Dr Syed Refaat Ahmed, whose retirement takes effect on 27 December.

Born on 18 May, 1961, Justice Zubayer is the son of the late AFM Abdur Rahman Chowdhury, who also served as a judge of the Supreme Court.

Obtaining LLB (Honours) and LLM degrees from the University of Dhaka, he did a master’s degree from the United Kingdom on international law.

He started his career as a lawyer in the district judges’ court in 1985 and at the High Court (HC) in 1987.

On 27 August, 2003, he was appointed as an additional judge of the HC Division, with his position made permanent two years later.

President Shahabuddin appointed him as a justice of the Appellate Division on 12 August, 2024, and he took oath the following day, on 13 August.