Bangladesh’s first female prime minister, Khaleda Zia, has died at the age of 80 after a prolonged illness, her party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), confirmed on Tuesday.
Zia passed away at about 6:00 a.m. at Evercare Hospital in Dhaka, where she had been placed on life support after doctors described her condition as extremely critical.
She made history in 1991 after leading the BNP to victory in Bangladesh’s first democratic election in two decades, becoming the country’s first woman head of government. For decades, Bangladesh’s political landscape was shaped by her bitter rivalry with former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, with both women alternating between power and opposition.
Despite her declining health, the BNP had earlier indicated that Zia would take part in the general elections expected in February, the first since mass protests forced Hasina into exile.
Zia first entered public life as the wife of former president Ziaur Rahman, before rising to become one of Bangladesh’s most formidable political figures following his assassination in 1981. She was widely praised during her first term for advancing women’s education and restoring parliamentary democracy, though her later administrations were criticised over corruption allegations, which she consistently described as politically motivated.
In recent years, Zia remained a powerful symbol of opposition to what critics described as increasingly authoritarian rule. She was released from detention last year after the fall of the Awami League government.
Tributes poured in following her death, with interim leader Muhammad Yunus describing her as a “symbol of the democratic movement,” while India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was deeply saddened by her passing.
Zia is survived by her son, Tarique Rahman, who is expected to play a leading role in the future of the BNP.
