Career
On 10 May 1979,he won the by-election in what was then Rangpur-1 (the current Nilphamari-1 constituency) as the candidate of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP),after the seat was left vacant due to the death of his father,Mashiur Rahman. [6] On 1 January 1986,when the Jatiya Party (E) was formed,he was a founding member and made the organizing secretary of the party. [7] Later that year,during the general election,he ran in both the Rangpur-3 and Nilphamari-1 constituencies as the Jatiya Party (E) candidate,going on to win both seats. Consequently,in line with the constitution,he surrendered the Nilphamari-1 seat (triggering a by-election in the constituency) and went on to represent Rangpur Sadar (Rangpur-3) in parliament. [8] [9] [10] From the mid to late 1980s,Swapan served as a cabinet member of President Ershad's Jatiya Party (E) government,holding many different portfolios. Throughout this period,he was made responsible for the Ministry of Youth and Sports (1984–1985), [11] Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism (1985–1986), [12] and the Ministry of Housing and Public Works (1986–1988). [13]
During this time,he also briefly served as the state minister of Defence and state minister for labour and employment. [4] [14] In December 2006,he revived the Bhashani branch of the National Awami Party (NAP) as Bangladesh National Awami Party-Bangladesh NAP,the party had been dissolved in the late 70s after his father,Mashiur Rahman,joined the Nationalist Front (later BNP) with a large portion of the party. Swapan led the party as its chairman until his death. After his death,his eldest son,Jebel Rahman Ghaani,was elected the chairman of the party. [15]
