Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury was sworn in as the 26th chief justice of Bangladesh this morning.

President Mohammed Shahabuddin administered the oath to the new chief justice at Darbar Hall in Bangabhaban at 10:30am today, Supreme Court Registrar General Mohammed Habibur Rahman told The Daily Star.

Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus, other advisers of the interim government, most of the judges of the Appellate and High Court Divisions of the SC, and chief of the armed forces, among others, were present at the oath-taking ceremony.

The felicitation of Chief Justice Zubayer will be held on January 4 at the SC, he added.

On December 23, President Shahabuddin appointed him as the new chief justice.

On Saturday, Chief Justice Dr Syed Refaat Ahmed retired from his post.

Born on May 18, 1961, Justice Zubayer is the son of the late AFM Abdur Rahman Chowdhury, who also served as a judge of the Supreme Court.

Obtaining LLB (Honours) and LLM degrees from the University of Dhaka, he did a master’s degree from the United Kingdom on international law.

He started his career as a lawyer in the district judges’ court in 1985 and at the High Court (HC) in 1987.

On August 27, 2003, he was appointed as an additional judge of the HC Division, with his position made permanent two years later.

President Shahabuddin appointed him as a justice of the Appellate Division on August 12, 2024, and he took oath the following day, on August 13.