Today is the first death anniversary of Ambassador Syed Muazzem Ali. He was born in Sylhet in 1944 to an enlightened and accomplished family. His father Syed Mustafa Ali was a well-known writer and his elder brother SM Ali was the founding editor of this newspaper. Eminent writer Syed Mujtaba Ali was his
Chhoto Chacha.
Syed Muazzem Ali obtained his Masters degree from Dhaka University in 1966 and was placed in the First Class. He appeared in the Pakistan Central Superior Services Exam and joined the Pakistan Foreign Service in 1968. He was serving in the Pakistan Embassy in Washington DC when the Bangladesh Liberation War broke out. Dissociating himself from the Pakistan government, along with 12 other Bengali diplomats and officials of the Embassy, and the youngest diplomat to do so, Ali was a founding member of the Bangladesh Mission in DC. Ali became active in efforts to support Bangladesh during the war, raising public awareness of the genocide in Bangladesh, raising funds to support activities for Bangladesh, and liaising with the Congress and State Department.