Prof Wahiduddin honoured with Bangladesh Bank Award
A gold medal, a crest of Bangladesh Bank and Tk5 lakh was given to the award recipient
Professor Wahiduddin Mahmud has been honoured with the Bangladesh Bank Award for 2020 in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the country's economy.
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal, who presented the award jointly with central bank Governor Fazle Kabir, dubbed Prof Wahiduddin as a "living legend of economics".
"We all admire him as a great economist of our land and the central bank has made the best decision to nominate him," Kamal said.
After receiving the award, Prof Wahiduddin said, "I am honoured, and at the same time, I am feeling a little hesitation as I was part of the award board when it was initiated. And, now I am receiving this award."
He also said, "The Bangladesh Bank was my second workplace – after Dhaka University. I spent at least 15 years with the central bank and it was a great journey."
Prof Wahiduddin said he believes the country is on track to eventually becoming "the Bengal tiger of economy" in the world.
Congratulating the professor, Governor Fazle Kabir said, "Dr Mahmud is one of the rare talents of economics I have personally known."
The central bank governor, who presided over the ceremony, also said, "This is a proud moment for the Bangladesh Bank and it was the easiest decision for us to nominate him. This is 50 years of independence, and the central bank has given this award to our beloved economist Wahiduddin Mahmud."
A committee headed by the central bank governor nominated Professor Wahiduddin Mahmud for the award. A gold medal, a crest of Bangladesh Bank and Tk5 lakh was given to the award recipient.
Earlier, Professor Rehman Sobhan in 2000, Dr Nurul Islam in 2009, Professor Dr Mursharraf Hossain in 2011, Professor Dr Mozaffar Ahmed (posthumous) and Dr Swadesh Ranjan Bose (posthumous) in 2013, Dr Azizur Rahman Khan and Dr Mahbub Hossain (posthumous) received the 'Bangladesh Bank Award in 2017.
Born on 1 July 1948 in Noakhali, Prof Wahiduddin obtained his BA (Hons) degree in Economics from Dhaka University in 1986, securing first place in the first class.
Dr Mahmud started teaching economics at Dhaka University in 1969. He was promoted to professor in 1984 and retired in 2011. He is currently the senior country advisor at the International Growth Centre and chairman of the Bangladesh Economic Research Group.
In his professional life, Dr Mahmud has authored more than 50 important publications and research papers on basic economics.
