The word Budget is derived from the French word 'Bougette' which means a leather bag, and that's why you'd see every Finance Minister carrying a leather briefcase on the Budget Day.
The tradition to carry a bougette started over one and a half-century ago, when in 1860, the then Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Chief William Ewart Gladstone carried a red suitcase for his bundle of financial papers with the Queen's monogram embossed in a gold over it.
Gladstone was known for lengthy budget speeches that required a lot of financial documents and papers, and the Queen herself presented this Budget Box to ease his purpose.
The Red Gladstone Budget Box was carried with equal pride since 1860 on every Budget Day until 2010 when the Red Gladstone Budget Box was officially retired in the UK, placed in a museum and replaced by a fresh Red Leather Budget Box.
Colonial Footprint
So as you now know the history of the Budget aka 'Bougette' in the United Kingdom, Britain's colonial footprint led to this Leather Bag's debut in independent Bangladesh.
Bangladesh’s first Finance Minister Tajuddin Ahmad presented the first budget on 30 June 1972 and arrived with a leather bag carrying his set of Financial Papers that presented Bangladesh’s financial innings. Apart from Bangladesh, other British colonies like India, Uganda, Zimbabwe and Malaysia also follow carrying a briefcase to deliver the budget speech.
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