Ambassador Mr. Md. Golam Sarwar, a Senior Diplomat from Bangladesh, joined the SAARC Secretariat in Kathmandu, Nepal, as the fifteenth Secretary General of the Association on 25 October 2023.
Having joined Bangladesh Civil Service (Foreign Affairs) in 1991, he has served extensively in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Bangladesh, in different capacities at home and Bangladesh Diplomatic Missions abroad. Holding the rank of a Substantive Secretary to the Government of Bangladesh, Ambassador Sarwar served as the High Commissioner of Bangladesh to Malaysia (November 2020-September 2023), prior to his current assignment as the Secretary General of SAARC.
He has served as the Ambassador of Bangladesh to the Sultanate of Oman (August 2017- November 2020) and Ambassador of Bangladesh to Sweden, with concurrently accredited to Denmark, Norway, Finland and Iceland (October 2013-August 2017). He was also Consul General of Bangladesh to Jeddah with consular, trade and cultural jurisdictions on the Western Region of Saudi Arabia (2008-2010).
In his previous diplomatic assignments, Mr. Sarwar was posted to the Embassy of Bangladesh in Washington D. C. U.S.A. as Counsellor (2005-2006) and Minister (2006- 2008); High Commission of Bangladesh in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia as First Secretary (1997-2000); Embassy of Bangladesh in Kathmandu, Nepal as First Secretary/Counsellor (2000-2002); and Embassy of Bangladesh in Yangon, Myanmar as Second Secretary (1996-1997).
He has also served in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh as an Assistant Secretary (1991-1996), as Director/Deputy Chief of Protocol (2002-2005) and as Director General (2010-2013).
In his long diplomatic career, Ambassador Sarwar also represented Bangladesh on numerous occasions in various Regional and International Organizations.
Education:
Md. Golam Sarwar has obtained the degree of Master of Commerce/Business from the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. He has also completed Professional Article Studentship with a leading Chartered Accountants and Management Consultant Firm under the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh-ICAB (1987-1991).
Professional trainings:
He has also successfully completed overseas trainings: Advance Course on Diplomacy in Berlin, Germany with scholarship from the German Foundation for International Development (1995) and Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies (NESA), Washington, DC, U.S.A. (2004). Among the local professional trainings, he attended Civil Services Foundation Course in the Bangladesh Public Administrative Training Centre (BPATC) in Savar, Dhaka (1993) and Foreign Service Training Course in Bangladesh Civil Services Academy in Dhaka (1992).
Personal information:
Mr. Sarwar is married to Ms. Taslima and blessed with two sons. He has interest in travelling, sports and global migrant workers’ affairs.