Diplomat Mijarul Quayes passes away

Bangladesh Ambassador to Brazil and former foreign secretary Mohamed Mijarul Quayes passed away in Brasilia, Brazil on Saturday morning (6:00am Bangladesh time). He was 57.

He breathed his last in Brasilia Hospital at 9:00pm on Friday (Brazil time), a senior diplomat at the Embassy told UNB.

He was earlier hospitalised in Brazil with respiratory problems and other complexities.

Quayes also served as a foreign secretary in the ministry during 2009-12.

President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed deep shock at the death of former foreign secretary Quayes.

In a condolence message, President Hamid said the nation has lost a career diplomat at his death.

In a message Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said, "With the death of Quayes, the countrymen has lost a skilled, patriotic and cultural-minded diplomat."

Both the president and the prime minister prayed for the eternal peace of the departed soul and conveyed their deep sympathies to his bereaved family members.

Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali, State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam and Foreign Secretary M Shahidul Haque also expressed deep shock at the sad demise of Quayes and conveyed their deep sympathies to his bereaved family members.

Terming him an outstanding human being, his colleagues said Quayes' death is an irreplaceable loss to the nation.

"We've lost one of the most meritorious, dexterous, literary and scholarly diplomats in Bangladesh foreign service. It's really shocking and hard to accept his final departure and absence like this," said one of his colleagues praying for salvation of his departed soul.

Quayes was appointed as the Ambassador of Bangladesh to Brazil by the government in July, 2014.

A career diplomat, Quayes was a member of the 1982 batch of BCS (Foreign Affairs) Cadre.

In his diplomatic career, Quayes pursued ambassadorship in the Maldives and Russia. He also served in Bangladesh missions in London, Tokyo, Singapore and Geneva in various capacities.

He obtained a Bachelor's degree in Liberal Arts from Dhaka University and a Master's degree in Public Administration from Harvard Kennedy School of Government (USA).

At the Kennedy School, he was an Edward S Mason Fellow in Public Policy and Management.

His body is likely to be brought back home by Monday completing the necessary procedures there, a diplomatic source indicates.

Quayes' wife Naeema Quayes and his youngest daughter are there in Brazil. His eldest daughter studies in London.

Meanwhile, Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (DCAB) expressed deep shock at the death of Mijarul Quayes.

In a condolence message, DCAB president Rezaul Karim Lotus and general secretary Pantho Rahman prayed for then eternal peace of the departed soul and conveyed their deep sympathies to the bereaved family members.