On January 26, 2021, a middle school in Greenwich, Connecticut, issued a press release, announcing the appointment of three new board members who were “leaders in education, governance, and world affairs”. One of the three board members was Khalil Rahman who is none other than Khalilur Rahman, now Bangladesh’s National Security Adviser (NSA).
This is the bio that Whitby School, located at 969 Lake Avenue | Greenwich, CT, published in respect of Khalil Rahman: “Khalil is a founder of the East West University, a leading private university in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and currently serves on its Board of Trustees. He retired from the United Nations in 2016 after having served the organization for 25 years in various senior positions, including head of Economic Affairs at the Executive Office of the UN Secretary-General and head of several initiatives within the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
“Khalil Rahman began his career as an executive at the American Express International Bank in 1978. The following year, he joined the foreign service of Bangladesh and rose to become a Director-General in the foreign office. He earned his M.A. in law and diplomacy and Ph.D. in economics from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University in 1983. He also received an M.A. in economics from Dhaka University in 1978. He has two grandchildren at Whitby.”
Now, contrast this profile with the one (excerpts) that appeared on the Chief Adviser GOB’s post on Facebook on April 9: “Dr. Rahman joined BCS (Foreign Affairs) in 1979 after securing the first position in the first regular civil service examination after independence held in 1977…
“Dr. Rahman stood first class first in the MA examinations in Economics at Dhaka University in 1977. During 1980-83, he attended the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University and the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, and earned the degrees of MA in Law and Diplomacy and PhD in Economics.”
This part was widely reported in Bangladeshi news websites on April 10.
In 1983, Tufts University’s 127th Commencement Exercises recorded that one “M Khalilur Rahman, B.A. University of Dacca, M.A. University of Dacca” was awarded a PhD degree for his dissertation titled ‘Economic Growth and Distribution in Bangladesh: An Inquiry into Developmental Consequences of Public Policies’.
There is no reference to either M Khalilur Rahman securing an MA degree from Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, is located at Medford town in Massachusetts, US. Northeast News accessed this document through online means.
Did he take a second MA at Tufts? Did he graduate as a PhD student in 1983? What did he do at Harvard University? There are no clear answers to these questions related to Bangladesh’s NSA.
Now, two points stand out. One, that Khalilur Rahman earned a PhD in less than the minimum five years – he did so in three years – which may not be unusual even by US standards. He was a Bangladesh Civil Service officer in 1979 when he joined the foreign service. Two years before his ‘doctoral feat’, he had earned an MA degree in Economics from Dhaka University. He is said to have stood first in his batch.
After joining the foreign service in 1979, within a year – as his brief biodata published by Bangladeshi newspapers suggests – he was in the United States – to pursue not one but two higher educational degrees at the same time: an MA and a PhD. This was a singular feat.
If the Tufts University PhD degree – supported by a document that says “M Khalilur Rahman” was awarded a doctorate degree for his dissertation titled ‘Economic Growth and Distribution in Bangladesh: An Inquiry into Developmental Consequences of Public Policies’ – is definitive, then what is his scholarly/academic relationship with Harvard University?
This raises another question. He officially joined the Bangladesh Civil Service in 1979. The next year, he went away to the US to pursue an MA, followed by a PhD, without serving the mandatory probationary period.
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Bangladesh’s NSA used or uses at least three variants of his name: Khalilur Rahman, Khalil Rahman and Khalilur D Rahman. He is a resident of 1, Quaker Ln, Greenwich, Connecticut, although he has lived at other addresses in New York and Massachusetts in the past. His spouse, Nurun Nahar Rahman, and sister Celine Rahman-DeMatteo are US citizens and are registered members of the Democratic Party.
