In a significant shift in diplomatic protocol, the government of Bangladesh has ordered the immediate removal of President Mohammed Shahabuddin’s portrait from all its mission offices, embassies, high commissions, consulates, and diplomats’ residences abroad. The directive was issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday, August 16, primarily through phone calls to heads of missions rather than formal written communication.
This move signals an end to the practice of displaying portraits of any head of state or government in Bangladeshi diplomatic missions overseas. Until now, portraits of President Shahabuddin were prominently displayed in these establishments.
According to sources within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, special directives were conveyed through phone calls made separately to the embassies. Diplomatic sources from several missions confirmed that the instruction was not disseminated via official letters or emails. Instead, a few ambassadors and high commissioners in specific regions were informed verbally and tasked with relaying the message to other missions under their purview. To oversee the implementation of this new policy, an ambassador has been assigned for each region to ensure that the presidential portraits are taken down from all respective missions.
While the official directive was issued on Saturday, some reports indicate that the removal process had already begun in certain missions following the “student uprising of 5 August last year.” Officials at some missions revealed that portraits of the president had been quietly removed months prior, even without explicit written instructions, interpreting the absence of the president’s portrait at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs itself as a “signal. Several missions, including those in Washington, Delhi, and Beijing, had already taken down the portraits before Friday’s instructions.
As of Sunday morning, senior officials at the foreign ministry confirmed the directive to media outlets. While many missions had already complied, some diplomatic sources noted that not all had received formal directives, though at least two heads of missions confirmed receiving such instructions from the government. This change marks a notable adjustment in the symbolic representation of national leadership in Bangladesh’s diplomatic presence worldwide.
The Bangladesh embassy in Portugal said it had already removed the president’s portrait from its embassy on the instructions of the foreign ministry.