SAF Advisory Boards

Kamal Hossain is a Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. He was Chairmen of the Constitution Drafting Committee of Bangladesh (1972), Member of Parliament (1973- 1975), Minister of Law (1972-1973), Minister of Foreign Affairs (1973-1975), He is currently United Nations Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan, and Chairman of a Panel of the United Nations Compensation Commissions. He is Vice-Chairman, International Law Association and Chairman Advisory Council of Transparency International, and of the Bangladesh Legal Aid & Services Trust.

Contact E-mail: bangladesh@saf-7.org

Lyonpo Sangay Ngedup, Minister for Health and Education, Royal Government of Bhutan, Lyonpo Sangay Ngedup is an alumnus of St. Stephen's College and Jawaharlal Nehru University.  Starting his career as a career diplomat he rose to the position of a Cabinet Minister in 1998.  He also became the Chairman of the Council of Minister for one year, under rotation, from July 1999 to July 2000.

Contact E-mail: bhutan@saf-7.org

Inder Kumar Gujral, former Prime Minister of India. Born Dec. 4, 1919, s/o activists Pushpa & Avtar Narain Gujral, imprisoned as student leader. Speaks Urdu fluently. Wife, Shiela poet/author. Two sons. Brother Satish prominent artist. Awarded Hony. Doctrates from Soka University Tokyo, St. Rose College New York, Panjab University Chandigarh, Jamia Urdu Aligarh, GuruNanak Dev University Amritsar, "Order of Friendship" by President of Russia, "St. Andrew International Award - Dialogue of Civilizations", Russia, "Maharaja Ranjit Singh" Panjabi University Patiala. Presently Chancellor Maulana Azad National Urdu University. Formerly Chancellor Vishwa Bharati. Member Trustees Board - ICG/International AIDS Trust. Co-Chair of South Asians for Human Rights, Chairperson, Citizens Commission South Asia.

Contact E-mail: india@saf-7.org

Ibrahim Hussain Zaki, Minister of Planning and National Development, Government of Maldives, has been closely associated with the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) from its inception. He was the Secretary General to SAARC from January 1992 to December 1993. He has attended numerous meetings of the SAARC, the UN General Assembly, Commonwealth, NAM and the OIC. In his long career with the Government, he has served the maximum number of years in the Foreign Ministry, rising up to Deputy Minister level. He served as the Minister of Tourism from 1993 to 1998. Mr. Zaki has travelled extensively and has undertaken bilateral visits. He is actively involved with national, regional and international NGOs. He is also a Member of Parliament.

Contact E-mail: maldives@saf-7.org

Bhekh Bahadur Thapa, Royal Nepalese Ambassador to India, is a well-known intellectual. A US-trained economist who has held various positions including minister of finance and ambassador to the United States, Dr Thapa is about to complete his four-year term as ambassador to India. In the past he has been a Minister of Finance, Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank, Vice President of IDRC, Resident , Representative of UNDP to Sri Lanka and Ambassador to the USA.

Contact E-mail: nepal@saf-7.org

Salima Hashmi Professor Mrs. Salima Hashmi is a painter, art educationist, writer and curator from Lahore, Pakistan. She was educated at the National College of Arts, Lahore, the Bath Academy of Art, UK; and the Rhode Island School of Design, USA. She taught for thirty years at NCA, Pakistan's premier art institution, and retired as its Principal. She has exhibited her own work, travelled and lectured extensively all over the world, and has curated, or co-curated about a dozen international art shows in the UK, Europe, the USA, Australia, Japan and India. She is a recipient of The President's Award for Pride of Performance, Pakistan.

Contact E-mail: pakistan@saf-7.org

Lakshman Kadirgamar, Sri Lanka's former minister of Foreign Affairs was born on 12th April, 1932. He was educated at Trinity College, Kandy and the University of Ceylon. He was admitted to the Ceylon Bar in 1955. He was the President of the Oxford Union in 1959. He functioned as a Consultant to the International Labour organization (ILO) in Geneva in 1974. In 1976 he joined the World Intellectual property Organization (WIPO) and served as a Director until 1988. Mr. Kadirgamar served as a member of the Advisory Committee on Intellectual Property for the Government of Sri Lanka and the Foreign Affairs Study He is the author of a number of articles published in international legal journals.

Contact E-mail: srilanka@saf-7.org