khaleda zia

Begum Khaleda Zia (born as Khaleda Khanam Putul; 15 August 1946 – 30 December 2025) was a Bangladeshi politician who served as the prime minister of Bangladesh from 1991 to 1996 and again from 2001 to 2006. She was the first female prime minister of Bangladesh and the second female prime minister in the Muslim world after Benazir Bhutto. She was the wife of former president of Bangladesh and army commander, Ziaur Rahman. She was the chairperson and leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) from 1984 onwards, which had been founded by her husband in 1978.
Zia was born into a Bengali Muslim family in 1946 in Jalpaiguri. After her husband joined the Bangladesh Forces, she, along with her sons, went to a hideout and were subsequently detained by the Pakistani Forces during the Liberation War of Bangladesh. After her husband's assassination in 1981, Zia joined politics and came to lead the BNP in 1984. She and her party played a leading role in the pro-democracy movement against Hussain Muhammad Ershad, boycotted the 1986 and 1988 general elections, thus securing the reputation as an "uncompromising leader". She, along with Sheikh Hasina, helped lead the 1990 mass uprising.
Zia's first premiership began following the victory of the BNP in the 1991 general election, which saw the introduction of educational, economic and administrative reforms. Her party also formed a short-lived government the controversial February 1996 election, boycotted by the opposition. During her second premiership, began with her party's victory in the 2001 election and lasted until 2006, Bangladesh witnessed significant GDP growth and industrialization, as well as became the most corrupt country in the world according to Corruption Perceptions Index. Her government pushed a Look East foreign policy, strengthing the country's relations with East and Southeast Asian countries.
He second premiership concluded in a political crisis, resulting military takeover in 2007. The military-backed caretaker government charged Zia and her two sons with corruption. Her party lost the 2008 election to Sheikh Hasina's Awami League, boycotted the 2014 election, creating another political crisis in 2015. In 2018, Zia was sentenced to a total of 17 years in prison for the Orphanage Trust corruption case and the Zia Charitable Trust corruption case. However, she was acquainted from all of the charges in 2024, following the July Revolution, and was released upon a presidential order. After years of prolonged illness, Zia died on 30 December 2025 in hospital, and was given a state funeral.

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