Sayed Farooq-ur-Rahman

Sayed Farooq-ur-Rahman (Bengali: সৈয়দ ফারুকুর রহমান, romanized: Soiẏod Fārukur rohomān; better known as Colonel Farooq; 9 August 1946 – 28 January 2010) was an army officer and politician in Bangladesh. He was the leader and architect of the revolt by some disgruntled army personnel of the then-nascent Bangladesh to oust Sheikh Mujibur Rahman from power, a main figure in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War and the country's first President. Farooq and other organizers of the coup installed Khandakar Mostaq Ahmad in power under the premise that he would rule in accordance to Islamic law, though this premise was later broken by Mostaq. He was 2IC of the 1st Bengal Lancers Regiment and a major of the Bangladesh Army at the time of the coup whereupon he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. Farooq would found the Bangladesh Freedom Party in 1981 with his allies and go on to run for president against Hussain Muhammad Ershad in 1986, though the election was boycotted by other major parties. Upon the return of to power of the Bangladesh Awami League under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina in the late 1990s, Farooq was arrested and convicted, leading to his execution on 28 January 2010, along other coup members such as Bazlul Huda and Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan.