Bangladesh's First Female PM Khaleda Zia Dies

Khaleda ⁠Zia, Bangladesh’s first female prime minister and a towering figure in the country’s turbulent politics, has died at the age of 80 after a prolonged illness, according to her party.

Khaleda died at the Evercare Hospital in Dhaka, where she was admitted on November 23 with symptoms of a lung infection.

Her doctors said she had advanced ​cirrhosis of the liver, arthritis, diabetes, and chest and heart problems.

Khaleda’s death closes a chapter spanning more than three decades during which she and her rival Sheikh Hasina — who were known as the “battling begums” — dominated Bangladeshi politics. 

Bangladesh’s interim leader, Muhammad Yunus, expressed his “profound sorrow” at Khaleda’s death in a statement on X.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistan’s leader Shehbaz Sharif also offered their condolences.

Khaleda was born on August 15, 1946, in Dinajpur, then part of India’s East Bengal, now northern Bangladesh. She married army officer Ziaur Rahman in 1960 when she was about 15. Rahman gained prominence after Bangladesh’s 1971 war of independence, later assuming the presidency in 1977 and founding the BNP in 1978.

Khaleda’s political career began not through ambition, but tragedy.

Her husband was assassinated in an abortive military coup in 1981, plunging Bangladesh in turmoil. Rahman – who had stabilised the country after years of coups and counter-coups – left behind a fragile political order.

Khaleda, who was 35-years-old and a mother of two, inherited the BNP leadership.