President Mohammed Shahabuddin has appointed Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury as the 26th Chief Justice of Bangladesh.

According to a gazette notification issued by the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs on Tuesday, President Shahabuddin made the appointment exercising his power following Article 95 (1) of the Constitution.

Justice Zubayer is scheduled to take oath as the new Chief Justice on December 28.

The appointment follows the impending retirement of the 25th Chief Justice, Dr Syed Refaat Ahmed, who will step down on December 27 upon reaching the constitutional retirement age of 67.

Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury was born on May 18, 1961. He is the son of the late AFM Abdur Rahman Chowdhury, who also served as a judge of the Supreme Court. He obtained his LLB (Honours) and LLM degrees from the University of Dhaka and later completed a master’s degree in international law in the United Kingdom.

He was enrolled as a lawyer in the district judges’ court in 1985 and at the High Court Division of the Supreme Court in 1987. On August 27, 2003, he was appointed as an additional judge of the High Court Division, with his position made permanent two years later.

President Shahabuddin appointed him as a judge of the Appellate Division on August 12, 2024, and he took oath the following day, on August 13.