The interim government of Bangladesh is moving forward with the controversial appointment of Salim Uddin, a former secretary widely regarded as a major beneficiary of the ousted Awami League administration, as the new ambassador to Egypt.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has nearly finalized procedures for Uddin's deployment, a decision that has sparked immediate accusations of discrimination and political maneuvering from senior officials within the Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) Foreign Service cadre, who feel unjustly bypassed.

Salim Uddin joined the Civil Service in 1994, but his career saw a dramatic acceleration following the Awami League’s return to power in the 2008 election.

From 2012 until his retirement in December 2024, he rarely served outside Dhaka, holding a brief posting as Deputy Commissioner of Bhola (2016–2018) before returning to the capital.

His influential positions spanned key ministries, including Commerce, Industry, and Civil Aviation, but he spent a critical portion of his later career in the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, an agency frequently associated with controversy and corruption during the former regime.

Uddin's trajectory included promotion to Deputy Secretary in the Power Division in March 2012, followed by a Master's degree on study leave from the University of Birmingham (2012–2013).

He returned to the Power Division, later serving as Additional Secretary (2020–2022) before being appointed Chairman of the Rural Electrification Board.

He held this influential post until his promotion to Secretary in December 2023. The decision to appoint this recently retired administrative official with a track record closely tied to the former ruling party to a critical diplomatic post is seen by career diplomats as a clear breach of meritocratic practice.

In the final year before his retirement, Salim Uddin served as Secretary for the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock from January 1 to May 18, 2024, before moving to the more prominent role of Secretary for the Ministry of Commerce.

He officially retired on December 31, 2024, exactly one year after being promoted to the Secretary rank, and is currently on his Post-Retirement Leave (PRL).

Despite benefiting significantly from a series of attractive posts during the ousted Awami League administration, Salim Uddin is now being tapped as Bangladesh's next Ambassador to Egypt.

According to a source confirming the news to Bangla Outlook, the Chief Adviser's Office has already approved the appointment, and final formalities for his move to the key Arab state are reportedly underway.

This decision has ignited widespread controversy and sensation within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Dhaka.

Senior career diplomats are quick to point out that this appointment breaks a decades-long tradition.

They stress that Bangladesh has never before appointed a "political ambassador" to Cairo; nearly all previous ambassadors to Egypt have been drawn from the professional Foreign Service cadre.

Historical records confirm this pattern: since 1973, with the exception of one military officer (Lt. Gen. Mir Shawkat Ali, Retd.), all six civil service ambassadors appointed between 1973 and 1993 were either CSP officers later integrated into the BCS or BCS Foreign Affairs cadre officials.

Crucially, every ambassador appointed to Egypt since April 1993 has been a career BCS Foreign Affairs cadre officer. By selecting Uddin—a retired administrative official—the interim government is deliberately setting aside this established diplomatic precedent.

The decision to appoint a retired outsider has led to an overwhelming feeling of discrimination and deprivation among career Foreign Service cadre officials, particularly at the senior levels.

Speaking to Bangla Outlook on condition of anonymity, one official lamented the shattered career aspirations: "It is the dream of Foreign Service cadre officials to become an ambassador at some point in their career. We have so many senior officers in the ministry.”

“We don't understand the necessity of bringing in an officer from outside—and a retired one at that—for a post that has historically been reserved for Foreign Service officials. This is simply a form of deprivation against us."

Another official highlighted the perceived unfairness of the bureaucratic rules.

"A Foreign Service officer cannot become a secretary of another ministry after they retire. Why, then, is a retired secretary being made an ambassador, bypassing us? Why is this discrimination being applied to us? If they must appoint an ambassador, they should select someone from within our own ranks."

Diplomatic experts, while acknowledging the government’s right to appoint ambassadors, question the efficacy of selecting candidates from outside the professional diplomatic service.

Former Ambassador and diplomatic expert M Humayun Kabir told Bangla Outlook that while the traditional ratio sees 70 percent of ambassadors drawn from the Foreign Service cadre and 30 percent from political appointees or retired civil/military officials, the current decision is ill-advised on professional grounds.

"In terms of skill and capability, appointing an ambassador from outside the Foreign Service cadre is not a very effective measure," Kabir stated.

"Diplomacy is a highly specialized profession. It involves a distinct world with completely different management, etiquette, and training from domestic civil service. Therefore, I don't believe those whose main profession is not diplomacy can perform very well.”

“Such appointments typically serve to facilitate employment or achieve political objectives, but they are not very professionally useful."

Ambassador Kabir also validated the frustration of the career diplomats, stating it is "logical" for Foreign Service cadre officials to feel deprived when outsiders are appointed to ambassadorial posts.

He emphasized that the work of every state organization is predetermined, and "every organization should do its own work.

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