Mr Choudhury took up his post in early May

His appointment in Dhaka was notable as he was the first Briton from an ethnic minority background to hold such a senior diplomatic post.

Born in Bangladesh to a family from the Sylhet region, he began work in the UK in industry, as a design engineer, before joining the Royal Air Force.

The 44-year-old father-of-two then worked for the Ministry of Defence before moving to the Cabinet Office.

Appointment welcomed

Mr Choudhury was transferred from there to the Foreign Office in preparation for a fast-track promotion to the post of high commissioner.

The move was seen as evidence of the government's promise to create a more ethnically diverse Foreign Office to reflect the UK's multi-cultural society.

His appointment was widely welcomed by the Muslim community in Britain.

Mr Choudhury moved to the UK as a child from Sunamganj, a district in Sylhet, near Dhaka.

Radical change

He gained a degree in electrical and electronic engineering from Salford University and an MBA from Durham.

He was taken on as a strategist by the RAF after working as a consultant engineer for Siemens Plessey.

The Ministry of Defence made him assistant director in 1995 and he was appointed a policy director in the Cabinet Office in 2000.

While there, Mr Choudhury was responsible for heading the government's drive to develop a leading knowledge economy and e-government.

His interests are said to include policy for radical change in government and the potential of information technology for the economies of developing world countries.

Mr Choudhury, who is married with a son and daughter, also enjoys cricket, bridge and Bangladeshi cooking.