Zahir Uddin Swapan
Profile
- Party
- BNP
- Constituency
- Barishal-1
- Terms
- 3
- Disclosed wealth
- ৳15,243,860
- Criminal cases
- 0
- Education
- MA in Political Science, University of Dhaka; attended Government Brajalal College, Khulna
- Cabinet role
- Minister of Information and Broadcasting
Serving as Minister of Information and Broadcasting; currently advancing Ganga Water Treaty renewal and media freedom reform agenda.
Recent activity
- 2026-05-16 statement As chief speaker at Bhashani Farakka Long March Day event at Central Shaheed Minar, stated government will seek Ganga Water Treaty renewal before December expiry, prioritising Bangladesh's national interest. ↗
- 2026-04-01 statement Said government will not raise fuel prices despite global volatility, calling for cessation of panic buying. ↗
- 2026-03-27 media_appearance At international event, said credible communication, independent media, and strong democratic institutions are essential to fighting misinformation and maintaining stability. ↗
- 2026-03-04 statement Said government aims to empower citizens rather than rule over them, pledging institutional reforms and vowing to learn from previous government's mistakes. ↗↗
- 2026-02-27 statement Reaffirmed government commitment to press freedom; called any attack on the press an assault on civilisation; urged media to jointly define accountability boundaries. ↗↗
- 2026-02-17 appointment Sworn in as Minister of Information and Broadcasting in the 19th cabinet under Prime Minister Tarique Rahman. ↗↗
Provenance & notes
wealth_disclosed_bdt is movable assets only (cash + bank: BDT 15,243,860) per EC affidavit as reported by blog.sheikhazizurrahman.com.bd; agricultural land separately valued at ~BDT 19,375,500 and non-agricultural land at BDT 250,000, bringing total gross assets to ~BDT 34,869,360 before liabilities. Institutional liability (director role at SFIL Finance PLC) of BDT 19,903,910 reported. Two past criminal cases both resulted in acquittal; no active cases at time of election. vote_share_percent and margin_percent not calculable without confirmed total valid vote count. runner_up party identification as Jamaat-e-Islami is inferred from 'Scales' symbol association per BSS and TBS reporting; direct confirmation of Jamaat affiliation sourced from first search result summary. Term count 3 is confirmed by Wikipedia (6th, 8th, 13th parliaments). 6th Parliament term was extremely short (March 19 to March 30 1996) but he was elected.
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zahir_Uddin_Swapan
- https://www.bssnews.net/national-parlament-election-2026/360610
- https://www.bssnews.net/national-parlament-election-2026/360662
- https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh-election-2026/bnp-regains-stronghold-south-1361041
- https://www.bssnews.net/news/361922
- https://www.daily-sun.com/metropolis/858492
- https://blog.sheikhazizurrahman.com.bd/2026/02/zahir-uddin-swapans-financial-profile.html?m=1
- https://www.bssnews.net/news-flash/387598
- https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/404709/info-minister-pledges-institutional-reforms-vows
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barisal-1