Zakir Hossain from Dhaka
The Bangladesh government has barred the use of honorifics such as “His Excellency” and “Honourable” before the titles of the President, Prime Minister and cabinet members in official communications and government documents.
The Cabinet Division issued a circular on Wednesday (September 9) directing all ministries, divisions and their subordinate offices to follow the new convention with immediate effect.
The order covers the President and Prime Minister as well as ministers, state ministers and deputy ministers. Officials have been asked not to use these or similar honorific expressions in official correspondence, documents and summaries involving the government and these officeholders.
This means official references will now use the designation of the officeholder directly, such as President, Prime Minister, minister or state minister, without ceremonial prefixes.
The move is aimed at bringing uniformity to official state communication and simplifying the way senior government functionaries are referred to in administrative documents.
The directive marks another change in Bangladesh’s official protocol practices. In July 2025, the then interim administration had scrapped an earlier practice under which former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and some senior women officials were reportedly addressed as “sir”. At the time, authorities had also discussed reviewing other protocol rules and honorifics.
The latest circular came into force on Wednesday, with government offices across Bangladesh instructed to implement the revised practice immediately.