Tuesday 30/December/2025 – 05:40 AM
Khaleda Zia, the first female prime minister in the history of Bangladesh, has died at the age of 80 after a long struggle with illness, according to what the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party announced.
Khaleda Zia is the first female Prime Minister in the history of Bangladesh
Her doctors confirmed that she was suffering from advanced cirrhosis of the liver, in addition to chronic diseases that included diabetes, heart and chest problems, and arthritis, according to what was published by Reuters.
Khaleda Zia, known by her first name, was described as shy and dedicated to raising her two children until her husband, military leader and then-president Ziaur Rahman, was assassinated in a coup attempt in 1981. Three years later, she assumed the presidency of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, which her husband founded, pledging to achieve its goal of liberating Bangladesh from poverty and economic backwardness.
The name Khaleda Zia has emerged as one of the most prominent symbols of political life in Bangladesh since the early 1990s, when she entered into a long and intense political competition with Sheikh Hasina, which dominated the political scene in the country for decades. In 1991, Khaleda led her party to victory in the first elections described as free in the country’s history, becoming the first woman to assume prime minister in Bangladesh.
Since her departure from power in 2006, Khaleda spent years between imprisonment and house arrest against the backdrop of corruption cases that she described as politically motivated, before she was released for health reasons, and then finally released in August 2024 following the overthrow of Sheikh Hasina following widespread popular protests.
Khaleda Zia’s death comes at a sensitive time in Bangladesh, as the country has been run since August 2024 by an interim government headed by Muhammad Yunus, while the Bangladesh Nationalist Party is seen as the most likely to win in the upcoming parliamentary elections, especially after her son Tariq Rahman, the acting head of the party, returns to the country after many years in exile.
