Sayyid A. Karim (1928-2009) studied at the Universities of Calcutta and Dhaka, and at the London School of Economics. He became a member of the Pakistan Foreign Service in 1950. He was serving in New York as the Deputy Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations when the Bangladesh liberation war broke out. He left the Pakistan government service to join the liberation movement. Returning to Bangladesh after its liberation, he became the first Foreign Secretary. He also served for five years in the United Nations. He has traveled widely as a diplomat and an international civil servant.