Shaikh Abdul Hannan
{{Short description|Former Chief of Air Staff of Bangladesh Air Force}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix = Air Chief Marshal
| honorific_suffix =
| name = Shaikh Abdul Hannan
| native_name = শেখ আব্দুল হান্নান
| native_name_lang = bn
| image = Air Chief Marshal Shaikh Abdul Hannan (cropped).jpg
| image_size =
| caption = Military Portrait
| office = 16th Chief of Air Staff
| termstart = 12 June 2021
| term_end = 11 June 2024
| president = {{ubl|Abdul Hamid|Mohammed Shahabuddin}}
| primeminister = Sheikh Hasina
| predecessor = Masihuzzaman Serniabat
| successor = Hasan Mahmood Khan
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1963|8|1|df=y}}
| birth_place = Bagerhat, East Pakistan{{cite news |title=New Air Force chief takes charge |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/backpage/news/new-air-force-chief-takes-charge-baf-2109733 |work=The Daily Star}}
| nationality = Bangladeshi
| alma_mater = {{ubl|Bhola Govt. College|Defence Services Command and Staff College|PAF Air War College|National Defence University, Pakistan}}
| allegiance = {{BAN}}
| branch = {{air force|Bangladesh}}
| serviceyears = 1981–2024
| rank = 20px Air Chief Marshal
30px
| unit =
| commands = • AOC of BAF Base Sheikh Hasina
• AOC of BAF Base Matiur Rahman
• Commandant of Bangabandhu Aeronautical Centre
• Deputy Commandant of 101 Special Flying Unit, Dhaka
• Deputy commandant of Defence Services Command and Staff College
• SDS (Air) of National Defence College
| website =
}}
Shaikh Abdul Hannan (born 1 August 1963){{cite web |title=Chief of Air Staff |url=https://baf.mil.bd/website/coas.php |website=Bangladesh Air Force |date=12 June 2021 |access-date=25 June 2021}} is a Bangladeshi retired four-star air officer who served as 16th Chief of Air Staff of the Bangladesh Air Force. On 12 June 2021, Hannan took over command of the Bangladesh Air Force from his predecessor Masihuzzaman Serniabat.{{Cite web |url=https://www.ispr.gov.bd/en/chief-of-air-staff-adorned-with-air-marshal-rank/ |title=Chief of Air Staff Adorned with Air Marshal Rank |website=ispr.gov.bd |date=13 June 2021 |language=en-US |access-date=13 June 2021}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/country/air-marshal-masihuzzaman-serniabat-made-bangladesh-air-force-baf-chief-inter-services-public-relations-directorate-ispr-1586713 |title=New Air Force chief takes charge |date=12 June 2021 |work=The Daily Star |access-date=13 June 2021 |language=en}}{{Cite news |url=https://en.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/government/air-vice-marshal-shaikh-abdul-hannan-takes-over-baf-command |title=Air vice marshal Shaikh Abdul Hannan takes over BAF command |date=12 June 2021 |work=Prothom Alo |access-date=13 June 2021 |language=en}}{{Cite news |url=https://theindependentbd.com/post/263435 |title=Air Vice Marshal Shaikh Abdul Hannan takes over BAF Command |date=12 June 2021 |work=The Independent |access-date=13 June 2021 |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613161954/https://theindependentbd.com/post/263435 |archive-date=2021-06-13}}
Career
Hannan was commissioned on 14 July 1984 as a General Duties Pilot. The Air Chief Marshal is a category 'A' pilot and a qualified flying instructor.{{cite web | url=https://baf.mil.bd/website/index.php | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230811193625/https://baf.mil.bd/website/index.php | archive-date=2023-08-11 | title=Bangladesh Air Force }} He also holds the proficiency wing and is chief examiner of helicopter examiner board of MI-17/171. An alumnus of Defence Services Command and Staff College (DSCSC), Mirpur. Hannan graduated from Pakistan Air Force Air War College in 1999 and received his MDS and MSS degrees. He is the Top Graduate' of the 2014 class of National Defence University, Islamabad, where he received his MSc in National Security and War Studies while completing the National Security and War Course (nswc).{{cite web | url=https://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/metro-news/baf-academy-holds-winter-president-parade-1701189334 | title=BAF Academy holds winter President Parade }}{{cite news | url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/india-bangladesh-have-an-umbilical-connection-says-bangladesh-air-force-chief/article66274788.ece | title=India, Bangladesh have an umbilical connection, says Bangladesh Air Force Chief | newspaper=The Hindu | date=17 December 2022 }}
Hannan served in the United Nations Protection Force in Bosnia Herzegovina (UNPROFOR) in 1995. He also led the BAF Contingent (BAN AIR-4) in the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) in 2006–07.
On 12 June 2021, Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina appointed Hannan as Chief of Air Staff and he assumed charge on 12 June 2021.{{cite web | url=https://www.thedailystar.net/backpage/news/new-air-force-chief-takes-charge-baf-2109733 | title=New Air Force chief takes charge | date=13 June 2021 }}{{cite web | url=https://www.daily-sun.com/post/558116 | title=New Air Chief Air Vice Marshal Shaikh Abdul Hannan takes over BAF command | date=June 2021 }}{{cite web | url=https://www.bssnews.net/news/85073 | title=Bangladesh Air Force celebrates 51st anniversary | News }}
Personal life
The Air Chief Marshal is married to Tahmida Hannan{{cite web | url=https://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/metro-news/bangladesh-air-force-women-welfare-association-bafwwa-president-tahmida-hannan-inaugurates-tree-1687019299 | title=Bangladesh Air Force Women Welfare Association (BAFWWA) president Tahmida Hannan inaugurates tree }}{{cite web | url=https://www.daily-sun.com/printversion/details/732121 | title=Bangladesh Air Force Women's Welfare Association (BAFWWA) President Tahmida Hannan inaugurates 'BAFWA monthly market at Tk5' at all BAF units through video teleconferencing (VTC) on Thursday | date=January 2024 }} and the couple has a son.{{citation needed|date=January 2022}}
Controversy
Air Chief Marshal Shaikh Abdul Hannan has been accused of embezzling more than $245 million from Bangladesh Air Force’s annual budget and siphoning out of the country to Canada, the USA and the UAE.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nUqe3wLWCc |title=বিমান বাহীনি থেকে তিন বছরে লুট করেছেন ৩ হাজার কোটি টাকা {{!}} Corruption {{!}} Independent TV |date=2025-01-23 |last=Independent Television |access-date=2025-01-26 |via=YouTube}} Bangladesh’s anti-corruption commission has been investigating the matter after a formal complaint has been filed by a group of lawyers.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0ivJnWsSuE |title='৩ হাজার কোটি টাকা হাতিয়ে নিয়েছেন সাবেক বিমান বাহিনী প্রধান' {{!}} Shaikh Abdul Hannan {{!}} Desh TV |date=2025-01-23 |last=Desh TV News |access-date=2025-01-26 |via=YouTube}}{{Cite web |last=GDC |date=2025-01-25 |title=Bangladesh’s Former Air Guard Chief Shaikh Abdul Hannan Embezzled and Laundered $245 Million (BDT 3,000 Crore) to Canada, USA and UAE |url=https://www.globaldefensecorp.com/2025/01/25/bangladeshs-former-air-guard-chief-shaikh-abdul-hannan-embezzled-and-laundered-245-million-bdt-3000-crore-to-canada-usa-and-uae/ |access-date=2025-01-26 |website=Global Defense Corp |language=en-US}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-mil}}
{{s-bef
| before = Air chief marshal Masihuzzaman Serniabat
}}
{{s-ttl
| title = Chief of Air Staff
| years = 12 June 2021 – 11 June 2024
}}
{{s-aft
| after = Hasan Mahmood Khan
}}
{{end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hannan, Shaikh Abdul}}
Category:Bangladesh Air Force air marshals