The government has appointed Rear Admiral Khondaker Misbah Ul Azim as the 18th chief of the Bangladesh Navy. According to a defence ministry notification on Thursday, he will take charge as navy chief on promotion to vice admiral from the afternoon of 23 July 2026 and will serve a three-year term until 22 July 2029. He will succeed the current navy chief, Admiral M Nazmul Hassan.
Rear Admiral Azim joined the Bangladesh Navy on 1 January 1987 and, after completing naval training with distinction at the Royal Malaysian Navy, was commissioned in the executive branch on 1 July 1989, standing first in seniority and merit in his batch (87-A). He earned a PhD in maritime governance from Bangladesh University of Professionals (BUP), along with an MPhil and three first-class master’s degrees in strategic, defence and operational studies from home and abroad, and is a graduate of the Defence Services Command and Staff College (DSCSC) and the Armed Forces War Course (AFWC). As a student he won the Chancellor’s Award for placing on the combined merit list in both his SSC and HSC examinations.
Over nearly four decades he held key command, staff and leadership posts, serving as Commander Chittagong Naval Area, Commander Dhaka Naval Area, Commander Submarine and Commandant of the Bangladesh Naval Academy, as well as director of naval operations and director of naval plans at naval headquarters. He commanded the frigate BNS Omar Farooq and the ships BNS SR Amin, BNS Nirbhoy and BNS Saikat and the naval base BNS Titumir, and taught at the Naval Academy, DSCSC and NDC. Internationally he served in UN peacekeeping missions in Lebanon and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and most recently as Bangladesh’s ambassador to Oman, where he worked to expand bilateral ties and the welfare of expatriate Bangladeshis. His awards include the Navy Medal (NBP), the Naval Proficiency Medal (NPP), the National Integrity Award and the National Scout Award. A keen reader, writer and researcher on maritime security and naval strategy, he is fluent in Bengali and English with working knowledge of Malay and French. He is married to Begum Nurtaj Azim and they have two daughters.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report