Mr. Lutfar Rahman Sarkar Former Governor, Bangladesh Bank

Lutfar Rahman Sarkar, popularly known as L. R. Sarkar, served as the 6th Governor of Bangladesh Bank during 21 November 1996 to 21 November 1998. He was the pioneer of people centric banking in Bangladesh.

Mr. Sarkar held various positions in the banking sector and academia in his professional career. He started his career as a Probationary Officer in Habib Bank in 1957. Later, in 1965, he was appointed as an Executive in the newly established Standard Bank. In 1972, after the war of liberation in 1971, he became the Deputy General Manager at the nationalized Rupali Bank.

He also served as a part-time lecturer at the Department of Finance and Banking, Faculty of Business Studies at the University of Dhaka from 1974 to 2006.

In 1976, he promoted to General Manager at Agrani Bank Limited. From 1982 to 1984, he was Managing Director at Sonali Bank Limited. In 1985, he became a member of the National Commission for Money, Banking, and Credit. From August 15, 1988, to April 30, 1994, he served as Executive President and Chief Executive at Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited. After his tenure at Islami Bank, he founded Prime Bank in 1994 and became its first Managing Director.

In 1996, he was a member of the Banking Reform Committee. Following his tenure as Governor, he continued his involvement in the financial sector by serving as the Chief Advisor at Mercantile Bank Limited from 1999 to 2005.

In 1955, he obtained his M.A. degree in Political Science from the University of Dhaka. Mr. Sarkar received training in banking from London in 1964, in addition to other national and international training.

Mr. Sarkar received numerous awards and recognition for his contributions, including the Adamjee Award, Sufi Motaher Hosen Literary Award, Ami Tumi Se (Cumilla) Award, Asafuddowla Memorial Literary Award, and more. He was also honored by the Bangladesh Krishi Sangsad and the Centre for Bangladesh Culture. Furthermore, he received awards from the Association of Bankers, Bangla Academy Honourable Fellowship, Mercantile Bank Special Honorarium, Bangladesh (ABB) and the Institute of Bankers, Bangladesh (IBB) as a famous and talented banker in 2012.

His contributions extended to writing, receiving national awards for his writing, and advocating for ethical banking practices. He authored different humorous and inspirational books.