Early Life & Family
Born in 1949 in the village of Banar Hawla, Kapasia, in the district of Gazipur, Mahbub-Ul-Alam Khan descends from a family long associated with local leadership and public service.
He is the son of Alhajj Momtaz Uddin Khan, and the fifth direct successor in the lineage of Shurjo Khan. For generations, his family held the hereditary and elected position of President of the Kapasia Council (Panchayet), exercising significant civic responsibility in the region's administration and arbitration.
Education
Secondary & Higher Secondary
Kapasia Pilot High School
College
Dhaka College
University
University of Dhaka
BA (Hons) & MA in General History
Liberation War, 1971
Muktijoddha
As a student at the University of Dhaka, he joined the Bangladesh War of Independence in 1971. He actively participated in the armed struggle for the nation's liberation, making him an honorable and valiant Freedom Fighter as well as a Gazi — a mark of respect accorded to surviving freedom fighters.
Administrative Career
Mahbub-Ul-Alam Khan began his professional life at the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) before joining the Bangladesh Civil Service (Administration) cadre in 1973 — among the earliest batches of officers in independent Bangladesh.
Over three decades, he served the Republic in senior capacities across key ministries, including the Ministry of Shipping, the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources where he served as Joint Secretary in the late 1990s, and the Ministry of Housing and Public Works, among others.
Throughout his service, he was widely acknowledged as the first officer from Kapasia to attain the rank of Secretary to the Government, becoming a source of inspiration for subsequent generations of civil servants from the region.
In 2001 he was compulsorily retired in a political purge; he obtained a court verdict in his favor which was not implemented at the time. His Secretary rank was restored in 2008, and due to prevailing age limits he was not posted to a ministry, instead serving as Chairman of DPDC from 2009 to 2011.
Chairman, DPDC
Upon reinstatement, he was appointed as the first Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Dhaka Power Distribution Company Limited (DPDC) in 2009.
During his tenure from 2009 to 2011, he provided foundational leadership to the newly corporatized utility, overseeing early governance reforms, institutional structuring, and initiatives aimed at improving service delivery and accountability in Dhaka's power distribution network.
Retirement & Later Life
He retired from government service in 2011 with full honors. In retirement, Mahbub-Ul-Alam Khan remains a keen observer of national affairs, contributing occasional columns and writings on public administration, history, and governance, drawing upon his experience as both a freedom fighter and a senior civil servant.