Former Bangladesh PM Khaleda Zia Dies at 80

Khaleda Zia, who in 1991 became the first female prime minister of Bangladesh and developed a fierce rivalry with Sheikh Hasina as they exchanged power for decades, passed away on Tuesday after a prolonged illness at the age of 80.

Her rival, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), stated that she passed away following a long-term illness. According to her doctors, she suffered from advanced liver cirrhosis, arthritis, diabetes, and cardiovascular and respiratory issues.

In early 2025, she traveled to London for medical treatment and stayed there for four months before returning home.

Despite Khaleda’s absence from power since 2006 and her incarceration or house arrest for several years, she and her centre-right BNP maintained considerable support.

The BNP is regarded as the leading contender in the parliamentary election scheduled for February. Tarique Rahman, her son and the party’s acting chairman, returned to the country last week after nearly 17 years in self-imposed exile and is widely regarded as a strong contender for prime minister. He is 60 years old.

Bangladesh has been governed by an interim administration led by Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel Peace Prize winner and microfinance pioneer, since August 2024, following a student-led revolt that resulted in Hasina’s removal from power.

Hasina received a death sentence in absentia in November due to her lethal suppression of the student protests.

Khaleda, known by her first name, was described as shy and devoted to raising her two sons until the assassination of her husband, military leader and then-President Ziaur Rahman, in an attempted army coup in 1981.

Three years later, she took the helm of the BNP, which her husband had established, and pledged to fulfill his goal of “liberating Bangladesh from poverty and economic backwardness.”

In 1990, she collaborated with Hasina, the daughter of Bangladesh’s founding father and leader of the Awami League party, to spearhead a popular democratic uprising that ousted military ruler Hossain Mohammad Ershad.

Khaleda imposed restrictions on radical groups later in her tenure, but her second term as prime minister concluded in 2006 due to an army-supported interim government seizing control during a time of political turmoil and riots.

Before the 2008 general election, the interim government imprisoned Khaleda and Hasina for about a year on corruption and abuse of power charges, releasing them both prior to the election.

Khaleda never returned to power. As the BNP abstained from the elections in 2014 and 2024, her intense rivalry with Hasina persisted as a dominant feature of Bangladeshi politics.

The tension between their two parties often resulted in strikes, violence, and fatalities, hindering the economic advancement of Bangladesh—a country with a population of around 175 million that is impoverished, low-lying, and susceptible to catastrophic flooding.

Khaleda and Rahman, along with their aides, were found guilty in 2018 of embezzling approximately $250,000 from foreign donations intended for an orphanage trust established during her previous term as prime minister. Khaleda claimed these charges were part of a scheme to exclude her and her family from politics.

Due to her deteriorating health, she was moved from jail to house arrest in March 2020 on humanitarian grounds.

After Hasina was ousted, Khaleda was released from house arrest in August 2024.

In early 2025, Bangladesh’s Supreme Court acquitted Khaleda and Rahman in the corruption case that had led to their imprisonment in 2018. A month prior, Rahman had been found not guilty of the grenade attack on Hasina in 2004.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar have conveyed their profound sadness regarding the death of Begum Khaleda Zia and have honored her political legacy.

The prime minister, in a message on X, expressed profound sorrow over Khaleda Zia’s passing. He characterized her as a leader whose lifelong dedication to Bangladesh and contributions to its growth and development would endure as a lasting legacy.

Deeply saddened by the passing of Begum Khaleda Zia, Chairperson of the BNP and former Prime Minister of Bangladesh. Her lifelong service to Bangladesh and its growth and development leaves a lasting legacy.

Begum Zia was a committed friend of Pakistan. My Government and the…

— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) December 30, 2025

“Begum Zia was a committed friend of Pakistan. My Government and the people of Pakistan stand with the people of Bangladesh in this moment of sorrow. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family, friends and the people of Bangladesh during this difficult time. May Allah SWT bless her soul. Ameen!” PM Shehbaz added.

Heartfelt condolences on the sad demise of Begum Khaleda Zia, former Prime Minister of Bangladesh and Chairperson, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).

May Allah SWT grant her high place in Jannah and patience to the bereaved family. Ameen.🤲 pic.twitter.com/aiJITyhzlW

— Ishaq Dar (@MIshaqDar50) December 30, 2025

DPM Dar also wrote on X, writing, “Heartfelt condolences on the sad demise of Begum Khaleda Zia, former Prime Minister of Bangladesh and Chairperson, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).”