Country's first Finance Secretary Matiul Islam dies

Bangladesh's first Finance Secretary and one of the iconic figures in the country's economic 
operations Matiul Islam has passed away. He was 95 years old at the time of his death.

Matiul Islam's family members have said that he died on Thursday morning (20 November 2025).

Matiul Islam's profile shows that he was the first Finance Secretary in independent Bangladesh. 

He was assigned to restructure the country's banking sector after Bangladesh became 
independent in 1971. 

Matiul Islam worked in close affiliations with the then Finance and Planning Minister Tajuddin Ahmed. Matiul Islam held vital posts in World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and he was UN Resident Coordinator too during his decorated professional career.

Matiul Islam was a qualified Chartered Accountant. He served different non-banking financial institutions and credit rating agencies for a long time.

Matiul Islam joined Civil Service of Pakistan (CSP) in 1952. Lahore was his first workplace. He acquired post-graduation in Public Administration from Harvard University from 1957 to 1958. 

Matiul Islam was one of the bureaucrats who quit the Pakistan government during the Liberation War of 1971 and started 
working for Bangladesh's independence. 

Matiul Islam completed Bachelor (Honors) in commerce from Dhaka University. Later on he studied in Harvard University, USA.

Matiul Islam won DHL-The Daily Star Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011. Moreover, The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh (ICAB) 
conferred to Matiul Islam a lifetime honorific memento in 2021 as recognition for his professional excellence.