Sheikh Md Abdullah ‑ a Bangladesh Awami League politician and lawyer who served as the State Minister of Religious Affairs from 2019 until his death – died of Covid-19 on 13 June 2020.
He was appointed as the minister in the Fourth Sheikh Hasina Cabinet in January 2019.
Abdullah was born on 8 September 1945 in Gopalganj in the then Bengal Presidency, British India. He studied at a Qawmi madrasa and at Sultan Shahi Kekania primary school and high school. He completed his undergraduate studies at Azam Khan Government Commerce College in the Khulna District. In 1972, he completed his masters in communication from University of Dhaka. Two years later, in 1974, he completed his second masters in economics from the same university.
Abdullah was the founding president of the Gopalganj unit of Jubo League, the youth wing of Awami League. He joined his former high school, Sultan Shahi Kekania High School, as the headmaster. He fought in the Bangladesh Liberation War as a member of the Mujib Bahini in 1971. In 1975, he was appointed the Joint Secretary of Gopalganj unit of the Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League.
Abdullah practiced law at Dhaka and Gopalganj courts after getting a law degree from Central Law Collage, Dhaka in 1977. He served as the chief election agent of Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh, in the Gopalganj-3 constituency. On 7 January 2019, he was appointed the State Minister of Religious Affairs.
Abdullah died on 13 June 2020 near Jahangir Gate of Dhaka Cantonment while on his way to Combined Military Hospital, Dhaka. He was found infected with COVID-19 after his death, marking the first death of a sitting cabinet minister in Bangladesh.