Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury, a judge of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, has been sworn in as the 26th Chief Justice of Bangladesh.
President Mohammed Shahabuddin administered the oath of office at his official residence, Bangabhaban, on Sunday (28 December) at 10:30 am. Chief Adviser Dr. Muhammad Yunus was present at the ceremony.
On 23 December, following the President’s directive, the Ministry of Law issued a notification appointing Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury as Chief Justice. The appointment, made under the powers of Article 95(1) of the Constitution, takes effect from the day of the oath-taking.
The outgoing Chief Justice, Dr Syed Refaat Ahmed, retired on Saturday upon reaching the retirement age of 67.
Zubayer Rahman was born on 18 May 1961. His father, the late AFM Abdur Rahman Chowdhury, also served as a judge of the Supreme Court.
He has extensive experience in the legal profession. He was enrolled as a lawyer in the District Judge Court in 1985 and in the High Court Division of the Supreme Court in 1987. On 27 August 2003, he was appointed as an Additional Judge of the High Court Division and became a permanent judge two years later. On 12 August 2024, he was promoted to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court.
In his academic career, he obtained an LLB (Honours) and an LLM from the University of Dhaka, and later earned a postgraduate degree in International Law from the United Kingdom.