Professor Dr. Gowher Rizvi
Advisor to the Hon;ble Prime Minister
International Affairs and special representative. (with rank and status of Cabinet Minster)
Government of the People;s Republic of Bangladesh,
 and our Chief Honorary Advisor.
Professor Gowher Rizvi is Advisor to the hon’ble Prime Minister for International Affairs and Special Representative since April 2009. In a career nearly three decades, and spanning four continents, Professor Rizvi has combined academic appointments with position in international organizations, not-for-profit institutions and the media. Prior to moving to Dhaka Rizvi held the offices of the Vice Provost for international programs & Professor of Global Affairs at the University of Virginia. Earlier he was the director of the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance & innovation at the Jhon F. school of Government, Harvard University. He has held a number of other positions in academic, non-profit and international organizations including; Representtive of the Ford Foundation for south asia in Delhi & New York: Director, Asia society New Your: Fellow and Professor of international Relations, Nuffield College, Oxford: Pro-Director & Beit Fellow in Commonwealth Studies, Queen Elizabeth House, Oxford: Senior Lecturer, University of Warwick: Regional Director for Asia Pacific at Oxford Analysis; Lecturer in History, Balliol College, Oxford; and special Assignment to the UN High Commissioner of Afghanistan.

He has both taught and written on range of subjects and has considerable hands-on experience in institutional management, international development and conflict resolution. His publications include. The State Of Access Success and failure of Democracies to Create Equal Opportunities (Brooking Institution press, Washington DC, 2008) {co-edited with jorrit de jong} Beyond Boundaries (Toronto, 1986) South Asia in a Changing International Oeder (New Delhi, 1993); South Asian Insecurity and the Great Powers (London, 19986); Bangladesh: the Struggle for the Restoration of Democracy (London, 1978). He is the founder editor of Contemorary South Asia.

Three themes run through all endeavors: a concern for social justice, a keen interest in institution building and a deep commitment ot quality higher education, in the two decade he has been involved in the setting up of a large number of new foundation, institutions and capacity building programs. As the Representative of the Ford Foundation, in Delhi, he shifted the focus of the Foundation toward the historically disadvantaged sections of the society namely women, the tribal population and the Dalits-th so-called untouchables. Many of the new institutions set up by the Foundation were aimed at the empowerment of these groups. As a teacher adn educationist he has deep interest in quality education and research.

Gowher Rizvi was boarn in Kishoreganj, Bangladesh. He obtained a double first; in BA Honors and MA from the University of Dhaka before gong to Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, where he obtained his D.Phil. He is married to Agnese Barolo, a native of Piedmont, Italy. They have one daughter, Maya, who is a post-graduate student at Oxford: and they live in Dhaka. He and his family are vegetarian and volunteer for animal welfare organizations.