Name: Mr. Anwar Choudhury
BRITISH HIGH COMMISSIONER
"British of Bangladeshi origin"
Anwar Choudhury) is the Director of International Institutions at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office. He was a High Commissioner to Bangladesh, and was the first British Head of Mission to be of Bangladeshi origin. Although born in Sylhet Division, in north-eastern Bangladesh, he is a naturalised British citizen.
Anwar Choudhury (BSc, MBA) is Her Majesty’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh. Mr Choudhury has had a unique and distinguished career having served in British Industry, The Royal Air Force, The Ministry of Defence and The Cabinet Office. He is the first senior British Ambassador from a British Asian background and also one of the youngest to achieve this level of posting.
He started his career in Industry as a Design Engineer. This was followed by the Royal Air Force and the Ministry of Defence where he managed a large team of civilian scientists and senior military personnel. As Assistant Director, he was responsible for developing Ministry of Defence’s strategies and policies aimed to bring about the integration of Defence systems within the MOD, NATO and Allies.
Mr Choudhury then moved from the MOD to the Cabinet Office where he was Director of Policy in the Office of the e-Envoy. He was responsible for leading the vision and policy for UK Government’s ambition to become a leading knowledge economy and the best place for e-government. He left the Cabinet Office to join the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and initially worked on strategy and policy issues before taking up his posting as High Commissioner to Bangladesh in May 2004.
Mr Choudhury’s main interests are in policy for radical change in government and the potential of the information revolution for the developing world economies. On a personal note, he is married with two children (son aged 12, daughter aged 3). His hobbies include cricket, Bridge and an addiction for Bangladeshi cuisine.
