Khaleda Zia, First Female Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Dies at 80
Khaleda Zia, Bangladesh's first female prime minister and a defining figure in the nation's politics, died aged 80. Her death was announced by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on December 30, 2025.
Zia was the widow of former president Ziaur Rahman, who was killed in a military coup in 1981. She first served as prime minister from 1991 to 1996 and had a brief second term before being toppled by Sheikh Hasina following elections in 1996. Her long-standing rivalry with Sheikh Hasina defined Bangladeshi politics for a generation.
In 2018, Zia was convicted of corruption and sentenced to 10 years in jail. The BNP claimed these charges were politically motivated, a claim denied by Hasina's government. Zia spent years under house arrest with poor health but was freed after Hasina's fall in 2024. In January 2025, she was allowed to travel abroad for medical treatment after being denied permission 18 times.
Despite her ill health, Zia vowed to campaign in the upcoming elections scheduled for February 2026. Her son, Tarique Rahman, returned from 18 years of exile in the UK to contest in the elections, with the BNP seen as frontrunners.
Zia is expected to be buried in Dhaka on Wednesday alongside her late husband, Ziaur Rahman. Interim prime minister Muhammad Yunus issued a statement describing Zia as a symbol of the democratic movement.
