BNP Vice Chairman, former minister, and veteran freedom fighter Abdullah Al Noman has passed away.

He breathed his last at a hospital in the capital on Tuesday (February 25) at 6:00 AM. He was 80 years old and had been suffering from age-related complications.

BNP Chairperson’s media wing member, Shayrul Kabir Khan, stated that Abdullah Al Noman suddenly fell ill at his residence in Dhanmondi early in the morning. He was rushed to Square Hospital, where the on-duty doctors declared him dead.

No decision has been made yet regarding his funeral arrangements.

Abdullah Al Noman was first elected as a Member of Parliament from Kotwali, Chattogram, in 1991. After winning the 1991 election, he served as the Minister of Fisheries and Livestock, and following his victory in the 2001 election, he was appointed as the Minister of Food.

Born in 1945 in Chattogram, Noman became involved in student politics in the early 1960s while protesting against the Hamidur Rahman Education Commission. He joined the Student Union (Menon faction) and later served as the General Secretary of its Chattogram Metropolitan unit, President of Greater Chattogram, and Central Organizational Secretary.

After his student years, he entered labor politics under the guidance of Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani and served as Vice President of the East Bengal Workers’ Federation. He was also secretly involved in the Bhashani-led National Awami Party (NAP) and became its Central Organizational Secretary in 1970.

In 1971, he actively participated in the Liberation War. After independence, he remained involved in NAP politics until joining BNP in 1981, following its formation by Ziaur Rahman