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Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has chosen a new generation politician - Mohammad A Arafat - as State Minister for Information and Broadcasting.
The portfolios was distributed after the oath-taking ceremony at Bangabhaban on Thursday evening.
Arafat is a two-time member of the Bangladesh parliament, having been twice elected from the Dhaka-17 constituency as an Awami League nominee in the 11th and 12th parliaments, respectively. He entered the 11th parliament after winning a by-election on July 17 last year on Awami League ticket.
He is also a member of the Awami League's central working committee.
Over the years, he has been a key asset for the Awami League, in particular as regards the party's political communications and foreign relations functions.
Mohammad A. Arafat is known as an academic, social-advocate, and politician.
Arafat is a faculty member at the Canadian University of Bangladesh’s School of Business. His academic interests include, among others, small businesses and their relations with economic growth, capital, connectivity etc.
He is also the chairman of the Dhaka-based not-for-profit social-advocacy organisation, the Shuchinta Foundation. The foundation has, among others, done extensive advocacy work in poverty eradication in Bangladesh through entrepreneurship development.
Arafat holds advanced business degrees from Texas A&M University at Prairie View and the Oklahoma State University.
He is a well-recognised voice in the Bangladeshi late-night talk-show arena, popular for his sharp wit and reasoned arguments.
He is also a popular face on social media, including Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. His uncompromising views and stances on Bangladesh's founding history, and advocacy for justice for crimes committed during the 1971 Liberation War, endeared him to a large section of the Bangladeshi youth population.