Shahabuddin Ahmed (1 February 1930 – 19 March 2022) served as the President of Bangladesh from 1996 to 2001, and the Chief Justice of Bangladesh from 1990 to 1995. He previously served as the acting president during 1990–91 when Hussain Muhammad Ershad resigned from the post. He headed a caretaker government and held a general election in February 1991. Early life and education Ahmed was born on 1 February 1930 in Pamal village in Kendua, Netrokona. His father Talukdar Resat Ahmed Bhuiyan was a philanthropist. After passing the matriculation and intermediate examinations he took admission into the University of Dhaka in 1948, obtained a bachelor's degree in economics in 1951 and a master's in international relations in 1952 as a resident student of Fazlul Haq Hall. He attended a special course in public administration at the University of Oxford. Career Ahmed joined the Civil Service of Pakistan in 1954, completed training in the Lahore Civil Service Academy and at the University of Oxford. He was sub-divisional officer of Gopalganj and Natore. In addition he was a deputy commissioner of Faridpur. In 1960, he was transferred to the judicial branch. He worked as additional district and session judge of Dhaka and Barisal, and as district and sessions judge of Comilla and Chittagong. In 1967, he served as a registrar of the High Court of the then East Pakistan in Dhaka. He was elevated to the bench of the High Court on 20 January 1972 and acted on deputation at the Labour Appellate Tribunal for two years, 1973 and 1974. Ahmed was appointed a judge of the appellate division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh on 7 February 1980 and was confirmed in this office on 15 April 1981. Ahmed was the chairman of the Commission of Inquiry established under the Commission of Inquiry Act on police firing on the students in mid-February 1983. He was the chairman of the National Pay Commission in 1984 and submitted a report on the basis of which upward revision of pay scale was made. Caretaker government (1990–1991) Ahmed was appointed the Chief Justice of Bangladesh on 14 January 1990. Following a public agitation which was led by opposition political parties bent on changing the autocratic system of government and the resignation of the government headed by the then President Hussain Muhammad Ershad, on 6 December 1990, the-then vice-president Moudud Ahmed resigned and Ahmed was appointed