Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali has become the new finance minister of Bangladesh. He took oath today as a member of the newly formed cabinet.

Ali was born on February 6 of 1943 in Daktarpara of Khamar Bishnuganj village at Dinajpur's Khansama. He completed his bachelor's in arts in 1962 and master's in economics in 1963 from Dhaka University.

He served Dhaka University as a lecturer of economics from 1964 to 1966. He entered politics and joined Awami League after retiring from active diplomatic services in April of 2001.

In December 2008, Ali was elected to the parliament as an Awami League candidate, representing a rural constituency in Dinajpur. He also served the parliamentary standing committee on foreign ministry as its chairman.

In September 2012, he became a part of the cabinet and the disaster management and relief minister. Ali got appointed as foreign minister in 2013 and was re-appointed on the post after the parliamentary elections in January of 2014.