Mohammad Ali Arafat, a lawmaker from Dhaka-17, has been given the charge of State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ministry, after half an hour a 37-member council of minister took oath at Bangabhaban on Thursday evening.

Arafat, a Bangladeshi academic, social-advocate and politician, is also the chairperson of the Dhaka-based not-for-profit social-advocacy organisation Suchinta Foundation.

 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 and connectivity.

 His foundation has, among others, done extensive advocacy work in poverty eradication in Bangladesh through entrepreneurship development. Arafat is a two-time Member of Parliament.

 He was elected from the Dhaka-17 constituency as an Awami League nominee in the by-election in 11th and the 12th Jatiya Sangsad respectively.

He is also a member of the Awami League’s central working committee. Over the years, he has been key asset for the Awami League, in particular as regards the party’s political communications and foreign relations functions.

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 in social media, including Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.

His uncompromising views and stances on Bangladesh’s founding history and advocacy for justice for crimes. Arafat committed during the 1971 Liberation War, endeared him to a large section of the Bangladeshi youth population.

Born in Rajshahi, Arafat is also a syndicate member and Chief Advisor to the board of trustees of the Canadian University of Bangladesh.