Bobby Hajjaj

Bobby Hajjaj (Bengali: ববি হাজ্জাজ; born 7 April 1974) is a Bangladeshi politician, on and off special adviser to Hussain Muhammad Ershad, and election coordinator for Jatiya Party, Bangladesh.
He has been a member of the party ever since Hussain Muhammad Ershad appointed him special adviser in 2012. Before joining politics, he was a lecturer at North South University.

Family background

Bobby Hajjaj attending Model UN in Luxembourg, 1991

Hajjaj was born and raised in Dhaka. He completed his initial schooling from Maple Leaf International School. His father is business tycoon Moosa Bin Shamsher, and his mother is Kaniz Fatema Chowdhury. His grandfather Shamsher Ali, was a government official in Bangladesh during British Rule. Hajjaj has two siblings, Nancy Zahara and Zubi Moosa. He is currently married to Barrister Rashna Imam. They have two daughters, Inaaya Hajjaj and Nyaasa Hajjaj

Education and career

Hajjaj graduated college with a degree in Law and apparently become a barrister . During his undergraduate years he wrote for the university’s student newspaper, he also worked in multiple State Senate and Gubernatorial election campaigns.After graduation he worked in the financial industry in the USA for a year before returning to Bangladesh. Upon return he started work in business development and became a regular op-ed contributor to a few national English dailies, which included the Daily Star.

From 2003 onward he spent three years mostly outside Bangladesh engaged in business development and strategy consultancy in the USA, Europe, and the Middle East. Hajjaj spent two years at Oxford University, where he first did his MBA (2006) and then pursued post-grad research in Strategy Science.

Since late 2009, Hajjaj has been stationed in Bangladesh. After his return he worked as a lecturer and researcher in Business Strategy at North South University, and as a columnist with The Daily Independent, till late 2013. Currently he contributes to the Op-Ed column in Dhaka Tribune, speaking on social and political issues.

Political career

• 2012: Appointment as Former President Hussain Muhammad Ershad's special adviser
• 2013: Jatiya Party and Ershad publicly confirms Hajjaj's role as special adviser.
• 2014: Hajjaj received a lot of media attention for criticizing the controversial Bangladeshi general election, 2014 in which the ruling party Awami League's primary opposition party BNP did not take part. He was detained by Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) officials for 20 hours, in late 2013; right before the 2014 elections. According to Hajjaj, Ershad had appealed to withdraw his candidature but it was accepted without any apparent reason.
• 2015: Announced independent candidacy for 2015 Dhaka North City Corporation Mayoral Elections on 21 March 2015.

2015 Dhaka North City Corporation Mayoral Election

On 21 March 2015, Hajjaj declared his mayoral candidacy for the April North Dhaka City Corporation polls as an independent candidate. "I am declaring myself an independent candidate for the upcoming Dhaka North City Corporation polls as it is a non-partisan election. I was born in Dhaka. So, I want to take care of the capital," said Hajjaj while announcing his candidacy. He withdrew from the race on 9 April.

Political views

Hajjaj is known for preaching tolerance and practicing non-violent politics. He has spoken out against the violent nature of Bangladeshi politics on national television. He has urged his political opponents from both Awami League and BNP to rise above their ideological differences and work collectively to build a better Bangladesh.