Bangladeshi-American runs for Congress

Husband, father, homeowner, small business owner, academic administrator, professor, and economist: These are just some of the hats that Bangladeshi-American Dr Mohammad Ali Bhuiyan wears. And now he can add Congressional candidate to the list. Dr Bhuiyan is running as a Republican for a seat in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives, with “a champion of education, small business, entrepreneurship, and ‘Prosperity for All’” as his campaign slogan. A special election on April 18 will determine who will hold the congressional seat in the suburbs of Atlanta. The election has gained much publicity as the seat was recently vacated by Republican Tom Price, recently confirmed as the US secretary of Health and Human Services in Donald Trump’s cabinet. Long time residents of Georgia, Dr Bhuiyan and his wife Shamima have lived in the state for 30 years. In 1986, he moved to the United States from Bangladesh as a graduate student to attend Georgia State University, receiving an MBA in 1988. He also graduated with a PhD in Economics from University of Florida in 1993. Before moving to Georgia, he had received a Post-Graduate Diploma in Management in 1983 from Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore and lectured at IBA. Dr Bhuiyan has taught at several universities and held senior academic positions there: Assistant Dean at Hampton University, Director and Associate Professor at Clark Atlanta University, Director and Endowed Chair Professor at Fayetteville State University, and Executive Vice President, Vice President, and Professor of Entrepreneurship at Tuskegee University. Gaining advanced leadership training from Harvard and MIT, Dr Bhuiyan was listed among the “Marquis Who’s Who in America” and “Who’s Who in the World,” is an alumnus of Leadership Georgia and a Charter Member of TiE, according to his official campaign website. Accolades received include being named one of “The 100 Most Influential Atlantans of 2014” by the Atlanta Business Chronicle and one of the “Notable Georgians 2015” by Georgia Trend Magazine. Dr Bhuiyan is currently the CEO of Leadership Needed Foundation, Inc, an Atlanta-based non-profit run by him and his wife. He has said: “America is a country of immigrants. I came to America from Bangladesh as a graduate student in 1986 to attend Georgia State University. My wife and I became citizens of this great country in 2000. The ‘American Dream’ has become a reality for us.”