DHAKA, Dec 30: Khaleda Zia, one of Bangladesh’s most influential political leaders and the country’s first woman Prime Minister, died in Dhaka on Tuesday morning after a prolonged illness. She was 80.
Leaders of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which she led for decades, confirmed her death, stating that she had been undergoing treatment for multiple age-related ailments. In recent years, Khaleda Zia had largely withdrawn from public life due to declining health.
A three-time Prime Minister, Khaleda Zia headed the government from 1991 to 1996, briefly in 1996, and again from 2001 to 2006 — a period marked by intense political contestation, mass movements and frequent street protests. Her long-standing rivalry with Awami League leader Sheikh Hasina defined Bangladesh’s political landscape for more than two decades and often led to political instability and governance paralysis.
Born in 1945 in undivided Bengal, Khaleda Zia moved to East Pakistan following Partition. She later married Ziaur Rahman, an army officer who became President of Bangladesh before being assassinated in 1981. After his death, she entered politics and rose to prominence as the leader of the BNP, mobilising strong support among conservative and nationalist sections of society.
Her political ascent coincided with Bangladesh’s return to parliamentary democracy after years of military rule. In the later phase of her career, Khaleda Zia faced multiple legal cases and convictions, which her party consistently described as politically motivated. Health issues and court restrictions kept her away from active politics, though she remained a powerful symbolic figure for BNP supporters.
Tributes poured in from across Bangladesh’s political spectrum, with leaders acknowledging her significant role in shaping the country’s democratic journey, even as deep ideological divisions endured throughout her career.
