Born in Bangladesh, Fazle Abed became involved in charitable work following a storm that struck the country in 1970. He took action to aid those affected by the tragedy. When he returned from England, Bangladesh had become an impoverished country following the split of Pakistan and Bangladesh. The humanitarian was motivated by this to work toward improving the nation’s economy and established ‘BRAC,’ an organization dedicated to this goal. This organization offered better living conditions, educational possibilities, and a means of earning a living to the incredibly impoverished people of Bangladesh. This social worker helped around 130 million individuals worldwide as the group expanded and she continued to reach out to people in different nations. The NGO also helps people with their human rights by teaching them about the value of development and offering legal advice. The British royalty bestowed upon him the knighthood of the “Order of St. Michael and St. George,” the highest accolade, in recognition of his remarkable efforts to reduce poverty. Among other honors, he has won the “Olof Palme Prize,” the “Henry R. Kravis Prize in Leadership,” and the “Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership.” In 2014, Fortune magazine listed this conscientious social worker as one of “The World’s 50 Greatest Leaders.”
Early Life & Childhood
On April 27, 1936, Fazle Hasan Abed was born in Baniachong, Bangladesh (now known as Habiganj), to Siddiq Hasan and Syeda Sufya Khatun.
He attended “Pabna Zilla School” in Bangladesh for his secondary education, and he graduated from “Dhaka College” in the twelfth grade. The young child enrolled in a Naval Architecture course at Scotland’s “University of Glasgow.”
He completed his education at the ‘Chartered Institute of Management Accountants’ in London, where he graduated in 1962, as building ships was not a viable professional option in his hometown.
Career of Fazle Hasan Abed
He began working for Shell Oil Company upon his return to Bangladesh, and he was quickly elevated to the position of “Head of Finance Division.”
He escaped to England during the division of East Bengal and Pakistan and founded “Action Bangladesh,” an initiative to raise funds for his nation’s independence movement. When Abed went back home following Bangladesh’s independence in 1971, he saw that the nation had become monetarily bankrupt. In addition, refugees from Bangladesh were returning from India and needed rehabilitation.
Because of this, the driven social worker founded the non-governmental organization “BRAC” in 1972 with all of his savings. Bangladesh Rehabilitation Assistance Committee was the original acronym for “BRAC,” which was changed to “Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee.”
This ardent philanthropist joined the Harvard Institute of International Development as a visiting scholar in 1981. He was named to the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies’ “Board of Trustees” the following year. The “Association of Development Agencies in Bangladesh” appointed him chairman as well.
In 1986, this well-known philanthropist joined the “World Bank NGO Committee” in Geneva, Switzerland. He was named to the “International Commission on Health Research for Development” at Harvard University in the United States the following year.
He was appointed “Chairman” of the educational non-governmental organization “Campaign for Popular Education” in 1990.
Fazle assumed the role of Chairman of the “NGO Forum for Drinking Water Supply & Sanitation” two years later. Additionally, he was named as a board member of the “Independent South Asian Commission on Poverty Alleviation.”
This social worker was appointed as the chairperson of “Ain O Salish Kendra,” a human rights group, in 1993. He joined the “Board of Trustees” of the “Centre for Policy Dialogue” in Dhaka the following year.
This kind-hearted humanitarian was a member of esteemed committees from 1998 to 2005, including the Board of Governors of the Institute of Development Studies, which is connected to Sussex University, and the Policy Advisory Group of The World Bank in Washington.
In addition, he served as Commissioner for the UN Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor and Chairman of the Board of Directors of “BRAC.”
The “UN Secretary General’s Group of Eminent Persons for Least Developed Countries” included this well-known Samaritan in 2010. He joined the “UN Secretary General’s Lead Group of the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement” two years later.
Abed has been the Chairman of the “Board of Directors” of “BRAC Bank Limited” since 2013.
Large-scale Works
It is well known that Fazle Abed founded the non-governmental organization BRAC in 1972 with the intention of helping the underprivileged, particularly women who are living in poverty. In addition to serving more than 69 thousand communities in Bangladesh, the group has just begun doing developmental work in Afghanistan and the less developed nations of Africa.
BRAC offers assistance in the fields of human rights, microfinance, education, and healthcare. The most distinguished prize in Bangladesh, the “Swadhinata Puroshkar,” was given to the non-governmental organization that this social worker started.
Honors and Accomplishments
In 1980, Abed received the “Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership.”
He was bestowed with UNICEF’s “Maurice Pate Award” in 1992, in recognition of the organization’s or individual’s contributions to the betterment of children.
In 2001, he received the “Olof Palme Prize” in recognition of his immeasurable services to humanity.
This benefactor was recognized for his efforts to address important societal challenges with the 2002 Schwab Foundation societal Entrepreneurship Award.
The United Nations Development Programme honored him in 2004 with the “Mahbub ul Haq Award for Outstanding Contribution in Human Development.”
The “Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation” honored this well-known philanthropist in 2004 with the “Gates Award for Global Health.”
Fazle was given the coveted “Henry R. Kravis Prize in Leadership” in 2007 by Claremont McKenna College in California for disseminating social development best practices.
At the same time, he received the “Inaugural Clinton Global Citizen Award” in recognition of his enormous commitment to the advancement of his nation.
This philanthropist was awarded the 2008 David Rockefeller Bridging Leadership Award for providing education to the underprivileged.
For its charitable work, his organization, “BRAC,” was awarded the 2008 Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize.
For his efforts to combat poverty worldwide, the British government bestowed upon him the title of “Knight Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George” in 2010.
Along with these honors, Fazle Abed has also been given the “Trust Women Hero Award,” “Spanish Order of Civil Merit,” “Leo Tolstoy International Gold Medal,” and “Entrepreneur for the World Award.”
This kind-hearted social activist has been awarded honorary doctorates by numerous prestigious US and UK universities, including Princeton University, Yale University, the University of Manchester, and the University of Oxford.
Individual Life and Heritage
Married to Sarwat Abed, this Bangladeshi social worker has a daughter named Tamara and a son named Shameran.
Random Facts of Fazle Hasan Abed
The first member of his family to be knighted by the British sovereign was his great-uncle, Justice Nawab Sir Syed Shamsul Huda, and this Bangladeshi Samaritan is the second.
Net worth of Fazle Hasan Abed
The estimated net worth of Fazle Hasan Abed is about $12 million.