A decorated veteran of the country's 1971 war of independence from Pakistan, Major General Haroun-ur Rashid has been named as the new chief of the Bangladesh Army, sources at Army Headquarters said.

He will be promoted to the rank of lieutenant general, and will succeed Lieutenant General Mustafizur Rahman, PSC, who retires on December 23. General Haroun, 52, who holds the post of Chief of General Staff (CGS), also served in key posts, including GOC of 19th Division (Mymensingh) and Principal Staff Officer to the prime minister.

Hailing from the infantry corps, he served as Commander of the UN peacekeeping force in Georgia. After more than a decade under officers from the Corps of Engineers, including Mustafiz, Haroun becomes the first chief from the infantry.

General Haroun is known to have an academic bent of mind, having often been involved in teaching. He taught at the School of Infantry and Tactics as well as the Army Staff College.

He fought the Liberation War in 1971 in sector 2 and earned the the third highest gallantry award for surviving soldiers Bir Partik. A graduate of Britain's Royal College of Defence Studies, the new chief is married with a son and daughter.