Dr. Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury is a former Bangladeshi Minister of Foreign Affairs (2007-2009), a position he held after a long career in diplomacy and the Civil Service, starting in Pakistan in 1969, thereafter transferring to Bangladesh after the nation gained independence in 1971.
He served as Bangladesh’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York (2001-2007), and in Geneva (1996-2000). He was also Ambassador to Qatar (1994-1996) and accredited to Chile, Peru, and the Holy See (Vatican).
An international civil servant for a brief period, he was Special Advisor to the Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in 2000.
After four decades of working with the government, he joined academia as a scholar in 2009. He was Principal Research Fellow (Research- lead in multilateral relations and international linkages) at the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS) of the National University of Singapore (NUS). He also taught courses at the Nanyang Technological University and at the Lee Kuan Institute of Public policy in Singapore. He has authored a large number of books and articles on international relations and strategic issues, and has given lectures and seminars in universities and think tanks around the world. He joined the corporate world in 2020, assuming the post of Group Senior Advisor to Meinhardt International, a multinational entity headquartered in Singapore.