Govt appoints new BB governor after ousting Ahsan Mansur amid turmoil

The government has appointed Md Mostaqur Rahman as the governor of Bangladesh Bank for a four-year term, cancelling the remaining tenure of Ahsan H Mansur, the outgoing governor, according to two separate notifications issued today by the Financial Institutions Division of the Ministry of Finance.

The development comes amid a protest by a section of BB officials demanding Mansur’s resignation, alleging his “autocratic behaviour.”

The protesting officials held a rally under the banner of the Bangladesh Bank Officers’ Welfare Council this morning in front of the BB headquarters in Dhaka and threatened a pen-down programme if their demands were not met.

Later, Mansur held a press conference, terming the protest a “conspiracy” by a vested quarter. He left the office shortly after the briefing.

Speaking to The Daily Star over the phone, he said he had not resigned but left office after seeing news on several television channels about the appointment of a new governor. He cancelled all scheduled meetings for the day before leaving.

Mansur, a former economist at the International Monetary Fund, said, “There are formalities remaining. I will complete them later.”

Around 3pm, a group of BB officials mobbed and escorted Ahsan Ullah, adviser to Governor Mansur, forcing him out of the central bank premises. He was reportedly placed into a vehicle by some officials.

Later, the FID cancelled the remainder of Mansur’s term, which had originally been scheduled to conclude in August 2028. He was appointed in August 2024 after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government in a mass uprising.

“I wish success to the new government and my successor,” he told The Daily Star.

The change in Bangladesh Bank is part of several priority initiatives of the new government, Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury told reporters at the secretariat.

“Not only in Bangladesh Bank, many changes are taking place, and more are in line.”