Khaleda Zia, Bangladesh’s first woman prime minister, died on Tuesday after a prolonged illness, said her Bangladesh Nationalist Party. She was 80.
Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus on Tuesday announced three days of state mourning and a one-day general holiday following Zia’s death, PTI reported.
She had been suffering from advanced cirrhosis of the liver, arthritis, diabetes, chest and heart problems, Reuters quoted her doctors as saying.
The former prime minister had been undergoing treatment at a hospital in Dhaka since November 23. As her condition deteriorated, she was placed on ventilator support on December 11.
Her son and the acting chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Tarique Rahman, returned to the country after 17 years in exile on Thursday.
Rahman, who is a key contender to be the next prime minister of the country after the general elections in February, is likely to take over the post of the party chief.
Zia served as Bangladesh’s prime minister for three terms – from 1991 to 1996, briefly in 1996 and from 2001 to 2006.
She was married to former Bangladeshi President Ziaur Rahman, who was killed during an attempted coup in 1981.
On Monday, Zia and Tarique Rahman submitted their nomination papers for the upcoming 13th general elections in Bangladesh. While nomination papers were filed on behalf of Zia for the Bogura-7 constituency, Rahman would contest the polls on February 12 from the Dhaka-17 and Bogra-6 seats, reported India Today.
The Bogura seat was considered Zia’s stronghold as she won it in the 1991 general elections and retained it in 1996 and 2001.
In 2008, the seat was won by her party colleague Moudud Ahmed in a bye-election, reported The Business Standard. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party boycotted the elections in 2014 after Zia was put under house arrest and widespread reports of violence against Opposition leaders in the country.
In 2018, the Bangladesh Election Commission rejected Zia’s nomination applications because of corruption convictions.
In February 2018, Zia and five others, including Rahman, were convicted of embezzling 21 million takas (approximately Rs 1.6 crore) in foreign donations meant for the Zia Orphanage Trust, which was established during her third tenure as the prime minister.
On October 29, 2018, Zia and three others were sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment in another corruption case – for abuse of power and raising 3.15 crore taka (Rs 2.72 crore) from unknown sources for the Zia Charitable Trust. The two sentences ran concurrently.
According to prosecutors, the Zia Orphanage Trust and the Zia Charitable Trust were established in the name of Zia’s late husband and former President Zia ur Rahman, and existed only on paper.
She was released from prison due to illness in 2020, following which her family requested the government led by her rival, former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, at least 18 times to allow her to travel abroad for treatment, according to several reports. However, the requests were denied.
After Hasina was ousted from power in August 2024 following weeks of student-led protests against her government, Yunus, a Nobel laureate economist, took over as chief adviser of Bangladesh’s interim government.
The interim government allowed her to travel to London, and she returned to Bangladesh in May.
In January, the Bangladesh Supreme Court acquitted Zia in the corruption cases.
You’ve read Scroll.
Now help sustain it
Scroll is funded by readers, not corporate owners. If you believe our work matters, support our newsroom. Become a member today!
We’re not driven by clicks or corporate interests – just honest, independent reporting. Keep us going. Support Scroll today!