Bangladesh Bank has cancelled the contractual appointment of its Chief Economist Prof Akhand Mohammad Akhtar Hossain, the latest change in the central bank’s senior leadership since the BNP government took office earlier this year.

The decision was conveyed through an office order issued by Bangladesh Bank’s Human Resources Department-1 on Tuesday and signed by its director, Md Shahid Reza. The order came to light on Wednesday.

According to the order, Hossain’s remaining contractual tenure as chief economist, originally granted under Office Order No. HRD-1: 28/2025 dated July 1, 2025, will stand cancelled from September 10, 2026.

No reason for terminating the contract was mentioned in the order.

Hossain was appointed chief economist in July 2025, with the appointment taking effect from July 1 for a two-year term scheduled to run until June 30, 2027. The latest order therefore cuts his tenure short by more than nine months.

An economist with a long academic career in Bangladesh and Australia, Hossain completed his undergraduate and master's degrees in economics at Jahangirnagar University, securing first class and first position in both. He subsequently earned an MA (Honours) from the University of Melbourne and a PhD in economics from La Trobe University.

He began his academic career as a lecturer at Jahangirnagar University in 1981 before moving to Australia. Hossain joined the University of Newcastle in 1989 and spent about three decades there, retiring as an associate professor of economics in 2020.

He later remained associated with the university as a conjoint, or honorary, associate professor.

Hossain returned to Bangladesh's academic sector in 2024, joining United International University as a professor of economics. He took leave from the university after being appointed Bangladesh Bank's chief economist.

As chief economist, Hossain also became an internal member of Bangladesh Bank's Monetary Policy Committee, the body responsible for decisions on monetary policy. The central bank's website continues to list him as chief economist and an internal MPC member.

His removal adds to a series of changes at the top of Bangladesh Bank since Prime Minister Tarique Rahman's BNP government assumed office following the February election.

One of the new government's earliest major changes was at the very top of the central bank.

On February 25, the government cancelled the remaining tenure of then-governor Ahsan H Mansur, a former International Monetary Fund economist who had been appointed in August 2024 following the fall of Sheikh Hasina's government.

Mansur served from August 14, 2024, until February 25, 2026, according to Bangladesh Bank's official record.

The government replaced him with Md Mostaqur Rahman, a cost and management accountant, entrepreneur and garment exporter, giving him a four-year term. Mostaqur formally assumed office on February 26.

Another senior change followed in July.

On July 6, the government cancelled the remaining contractual tenure of Deputy Governor Zakir Hossain Chowdhury, who had been appointed for three years in September 2024.

He was replaced by Bangladesh Bank Executive Director Md Anis Ur Rahman, who received a three-year contractual appointment.

The government had days earlier appointed another Bangladesh Bank executive director, Md Sarwar Hossain, as deputy governor for a three-year contractual term.

The cancellation of Hossain's appointment consequently extends the leadership reshuffle beyond the governor and deputy-governor level to the central bank's top economic-policy apparatus.