Former Bangladesh PM Khaleda Zia Passes Away at 80
Longtime political rival of Sheikh Hasina and two time prime minister, Khaleda Zia played a defining role in Bangladesh’s post military democratic transition
Dhaka, Dec 30: Former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, whose decades long rivalry with Sheikh Hasina shaped the nation’s political landscape, died on Tuesday, her party said in a statement. She was 80.
Zia, a two time prime minister, had been battling health issues and returned to Bangladesh in May after undergoing medical treatment in the United Kingdom.
Earlier this year, in January 2025, the Supreme Court acquitted her in the final corruption case against her charges she had consistently described as politically motivated. The verdict had cleared the way for her potential participation in the February general elections.
In early January, Bangladesh’s interim government allowed Zia to travel abroad for medical treatment, ending years of restrictions. Her earlier requests to leave the country had been denied at least 18 times during the previous Sheikh Hasina led government.
Khaleda Zia was married to President Ziaur Rahman, who was assassinated during a military coup in 1981. Following his death, she emerged as a key political leader and played a central role in the mass movement that led to the ouster of military ruler H.M. Ershad in 1990.
She became Bangladesh’s first woman prime minister in 1991 and served a second term from 2001 to 2006. Her principal political opponent in multiple elections was Sheikh Hasina, a rivalry that dominated Bangladeshi politics for more than three decades.
