Dhaka, Dec 30, (dpa/GNA) – Former Bangladeshi prime minister Khaleda Zia, who governed for two terms and also served twice as opposition leader, died on Tuesday at the age of 80, her Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) announced.
“The BNP chairperson and former prime minister, the national leader Begum Khaleda Zia, passed away today at 6 am [0000 GMT], just after the Fajr (dawn) prayer,” the BNP wrote on X.
“We pray for the forgiveness of her soul and request everyone to offer prayers for her departed soul.”
Zia was the country’s first female prime minister and served for two five-year terms from 1991 to 1996 and from 2001 to 2006.
Last month, the BNP said Zia would contest next year’s national election.
The 80-year-old leader, who battled multiple health issues, had been largely absent from public life in recent years due to her ailments and two corruption convictions.
She was imprisoned for more than four years, after being convicted in two graft cases in 2018 and sentenced to 17 years in jail.
She was released in 2022 on health grounds, under conditions that barred her from travelling abroad and engaging in political activities. Her party maintained that the charges were politically motivated.
Bangladesh would hold three days of national mourning to mark Zia’s death, said Muhammad Yunus, head of the country’s interim administration, in a televised address to the nation.
He also declared a one-day public holiday on Wednesday, the day of Zia’s funeral.
The BNP itself said it would hold a seven-day mourning period, during which black flags would be flown at party offices across the country.
Zia was born on August 15, 1945, in the northern Bangladeshi district of Dinajpur. She married Ziaur Rahman, a war hero and an army chief who became president of the country, in 1960.
She later made a dramatic journey from a private housewife to the nation’s first female head of government, during a tumultuous period for Bangladesh.
Yunus said Zia “was not only the leader of a political party, she was an important chapter in the history of Bangladesh.”
She earned the epithet “uncompromising leader” through the anti-autocracy movement in the 1990s, leading the BNP for 41 years. She served as a member of Parliament five times and as prime minister three times, twice serving full terms, and as the leader of the opposition twice, Yunus said.
“With the demise of Khaleda Zia, the nation has lost a great guardian. I am deeply grieved and saddened by her passing.”
Zia’s arch political rival, former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who has lived in exile in India since her ouster in August 2024, also expressed condolences, praising Zia’s role in establishing democracy.
“Her passing represents a profound loss for Bangladesh’s political life and for the leadership of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.”
Condolences from international leaders
Foreign leaders also paid tribute to Zia, praising her role in shaping Bangladesh’s modern history and regional ties.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Zia’s contributions to Bangladesh’s development and India-Bangladesh relations would be remembered, while Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif described her as a longtime friend of Pakistan who left a lasting legacy.
The United States embassy in Dhaka said Zia played a pivotal role in her country’s modern history and that her leadership helped advance Bangladesh’s development.
To her supporters, Zia’s defiance against military dictatorship and political rivals defined an era. To her critics, her tenures were marred by allegations of corruption, political violence, and authoritarian tendencies.
GNA