Saturday marks the sixth death anniversary of Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, the visionary founder of the world’s largest non-governmental development organisation, Brac.
Sir Fazle passed away on December 20, 2019, at the age of 83 while undergoing treatment in Dhaka.
Born in 1936, Sir Fazle studied accountancy in London and qualified as a cost management accountant in 1962. His life took a profound turn during the devastating 1970 cyclone and the Liberation War of 1971, events that reshaped his convictions while he was working for a multinational company in Pakistan. Following the outbreak of the war, he resigned and moved to London, where he helped establish “Action Bangladesh” and “HELP Bangladesh” to support the country’s fight for independence.
In 1972, after the war ended, he returned to a newly independent Bangladesh and travelled to Sunamganj, where the economy was in ruins and communities were struggling to rebuild their lives. With millions of refugees returning from India, urgent relief and rehabilitation were desperately needed. At the age of 36, guided by a deep belief in people’s potential to transform their own lives, he founded Brac in the remote area of Shalla in Sunamganj as a small relief and resettlement initiative.
From modest beginnings, Brac grew into a global force for development. Over the past 52 years, it has expanded into an integrated ecosystem of programmes and enterprises touching every aspect of human development.
Today, Brac reaches more than 145 million people across 14 countries in Asia and Africa, helping individuals and communities break cycles of poverty and build resilient, dignified lives.
Sir Fazle Hasan Abed’s legacy continues to guide Brac’s mission: a steadfast belief that every person, regardless of their circumstances, holds boundless potential and, with the right support, can shape their own future.
In recognition of his lifelong dedication and extraordinary contributions to social progress, Sir Fazle Hasan Abed was posthumously awarded the Independence Award 2025, the highest civilian honour conferred by the Government of Bangladesh.
Other Recognitions and Awards
For his extraordinary contributions to the social sector, Sir Fazle Hasan Abed has been honoured with numerous national and international awards. Among his notable awards are the Idan Prize for International Social Entrepreneurship (2019), the Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau by the King of the Netherlands (2019), the Lego Prize (2018), the Laouadat C Award (2017), the Jose Edgardo Campos Collaborative Leadership Award (2016), the Thomas Francis Jr. Medal for Global Public Health (2016), the World Food Prize (2015), the Trust Women Hero Award (2014), the Order of Civil Merit (Orden del Mérito Civil, 2014), the Lev-Tov Award (2014), the Open Society Prize (2013), the WISE Prize for Education (2011), the Entrepreneur for the World Award (2009), the David Rockefeller Bridging Leadership Award (2008), the Clinton Global Citizenship Award (2007), the Henry R. Kravis Prize in Leadership (2007), and the Palli Karma Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) Lifetime Achievement Award for contributions to poverty alleviation and social development (2007), the UNDP Mahbub ul Haq Award for Exceptional Contribution to Human Development (2004), the Gates Award for Global Health (2004), the Gleitsman Foundation Prize (2003), the Showa Foundation Social Entrepreneurship Award (2003), the Wolfensohn Gold Medal (2001), and the InterAction Humanitarian Award (1998), among others.
“Ashoka” has also recognised Sir Fazle Hasan Abed as one of its “Global Greats”. He is a founding member of the Global Academy for Social Entrepreneurship of this institution. For his exceptional contributions to poverty alleviation and social development in Bangladesh and internationally, he was awarded the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George by the British Crown in 2009. He was appointed as one of the “Eminent Persons” in the United Nations’ list of “Global Figures” for advising on assistance to least developed countries in 2010. In 2014 and 2017, he was included in the Forbes Magazine’s list of the world’s top 50 leaders.
Sir Fazle Hasan Abed has received numerous honorary degrees, including Doctor of Laws from Princeton University in 2014, Doctor of Letters from the University of Oxford in 2009, Doctor of Laws from Columbia University in 2008, and Doctorate of Humane Letters from Yale University in 2007.
