Photo: Collected
Bangla Press Desk: Three female heads of mission—serving as High Commissioners and Ambassadors—have been simultaneously promoted to the rank of Secretary.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a notification to this effect on Monday (October 12).
The officials promoted are Naureen Ahsan, High Commissioner of Bangladesh to Brunei Darussalam; Samina Naz, High Commissioner of Bangladesh to New Zealand; and Nahida Rahman Shumona, Ambassador of Bangladesh to Greece.
Among them, Samina and Naureen belong to the 15th batch of the BCS (Foreign Affairs) cadre, while Shumona belongs to the 17th batch.
Prior to her assignment at the Wellington mission in New Zealand, Samina served as the Bangladeshi Ambassador to Vietnam and Egypt. She is the first resident High Commissioner of Bangladesh in Wellington.
When she became the first Deputy High Commissioner in Mumbai, India, in 2013, it marked the first time a Bangladesh mission was led by a female diplomat. Samina has also held various positions at missions in The Hague, Delhi, and the Permanent Mission of Bangladesh to the UN in New York.
Meanwhile, before moving to Athens, Greece, Shumona served as the High Commissioner of Bangladesh to Brunei Darussalam for four years. During her diplomatic career, she held various roles at Bangladesh missions in Brasilia, Ottawa, Kolkata, and Canberra.
Naureen, who joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1995, has served in various capacities at missions in Pretoria, The Hague, and Ottawa throughout her diplomatic career.
The notification states that the promoted officials will continue to serve at their respective duty stations—where they were posted immediately prior to the promotion—until further orders are issued. It was noted that this notification was issued in the public interest.
BP/TD
