Hemayet Uddin, a career diplomat of Bangladesh since 1975, served in various positions in the Foreign Ministry and Bangladesh Embassies abroad. Before becoming Foreign Secretary in 2005, he served as Bangladesh Ambassador to Thailand and Cambodia; and High Commissioner to India. On retirement, he joined the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) as Ambassador and Director General in charge of the Department of Culture, Family Affairs and Human Rights and Dialogue among Civilizations. He authored a book A Neighbourly Affair: Assignment India, published by UPL, Dhaka (2009).