South Asia: Five Puzzles on Democracy and Development

Hossain Zillur Rahman
2009 IGL INSPIRE Fellow

Dr. Hossain Zillur Rahman was appointed Advisor (cabinet minister) in charge of the Ministries of Commerce and Education to the Caretaker Government of Bangladesh in January 2008, which he continued until January 2009. During his tenure, he was entrusted with the lead role in the political negotiations, which saw the successful return of the country to electoral democracy. 

An eminent economist and social thinker, Dr. Rahman was a leading researcher at the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies at Dhaka between 1977 and 2000.  He initiated and led the internationally renowned Analysis of Poverty Trends Project at the Institute and is the author of Rethinking Rural Poverty. 

In 1996, Dr. Rahman founded the Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC), a Dhaka-based think tank and has been its Executive Chairman since 2000.  At PPRC, Dr. Rahman initiated major new research programs on governance and education and is the author of Unbundling Governance.

Between 2002 and 2006, Dr. Rahman was the Lead Consultant for the Government of Bangladesh in preparing its strategy of accelerated poverty reduction.  During this period, Dr. Rahman was also appointed to the SAARC Poverty Commission (ISACPA) and was the lead drafter of Our Future, Our Responsibility: Road-Map for a Poverty-Free South Asia. 

Dr. Rahman was the lead editor for finalizing the National Plan of Action (NPA II) on primary education for the Ministry of
Primary and Mass Education.  He is a resource person to the National Defence College.  Dr. Rahman has been a consultant
to many international agencies including the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Danida, Sida, Swiss Development
Cooperation, DFID.

Part of the EPIIC 2009-10 theme: South Asia: Conflict, Culture, Complexity and Change