Khaleda Zia: Bangladesh's 1st Woman PM Who Had An India Connection

Khaleda Zia, Bangladesh's first woman prime minister, died at the age of 80 on Tuesday after a prolonged illness, her Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) said in a statement.

30 Dec 2025, 01:55 · NDTV

Khaleda Zia, Bangladesh's first woman prime minister, died at the age of 80 on Tuesday after a prolonged illness, her Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) said in a statement. Zia had long been suffering from multiple health complications, including advanced cirrhosis of the liver, arthritis, diabetes, chest and heart problems - for which she had been receiving treatment at a specialised private hospital in Dhaka.

Khaleda left behind a strong political legacy in Bangladesh, and she remains an influential figure in South Asian politics.

Who was Khaleda Zia?

Khaleda Zia has an India connection as she was born in 1945 in Jalpaiguri - the then-undivided Dinajpur district in Bengal Presidency, British India (now Jalpaiguri, India). After the partition, Khaleda and her family migrated to Dinajpur town (now in Bangladesh). She initially attended the Dinajpur Missionary School and later moved to the Dinajpur Girls' School in 1960.

Khaleda Zia served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh three times since 1991. She was the first woman to be elected as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh.

She was married to Ziaur Rahman, the former President of Bangladesh who was killed during a coup in 1981 - marking the beginning of a nine-year-long military regime in the country. After Ziaur Rahman's death, Khaleda led a seven-party alliance to put an end to the former Chief of the Bangladesh Army General Hussain Muhammad Ershad's rule. She also joined BNP as a general member and was later elected as the vice-chairman of the party in 1983. A year later, the party elected her as the chairperson.

In 1986, Khaleda denounced the elections and did not participate in them, while her rivals from the Awami League, Jamaat-e-Islami and Communist Party of Bangladesh joined the election under Jatiya Party-led rule. Because of her determination, she was detained seven times from 1983 to 1990.

In 1991, Khaleda became the country's first woman prime minister through popular vote. During her regime, Khaleda introduced the parliamentary form of government and the caretaker government system to oversee a free and fair election. Some of the major economic reforms marked the first government of Khaleda Zia, which included the introduction of value-added tax (VAT), the formulation of the Bank Company Act in 1991 and the Financial Institutions Act in 1993, and the establishment of the privatisation board in 1993. She is also remembered for her role in making education accessible in Bangladesh.

Khaleda's second term as the PM lasted for a few weeks after February 1996. Aiming to return to power, the BNP formed a four-party opposition alliance in 1999 with the Jatiya Party, the Jamaat-e-Islami, and the Islami Oikya Jote and launched several agitation programs against the ruling Awami League. Khaleda Zia was re-elected in 2001, regaining power by promising to eliminate corruption and terrorism.

In 2006, months before stepping down from the office, Khaleda Zia had visited India.

Khaleda was arrested in 2007 on charges of corruption after multiple attempts to exile her along with her family members.

Since the former Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina-led government took over in 2009, Khaleda renewed her fight for democracy. She was then expelled from her house and was put under house arrest twice when she launched movements for democracy. In 2011, she was honoured as 'Fighter for Democracy' by New Jersey's State Senate.

In October 2012, Khaleda visited India and met the then-President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in 2015 - a year after taking office, visited Bangladesh and met Khaleda Zia.

Khaleda Zia was jailed for 17 years in 2018 in the Zia Orphanage Trust and Zia Charitable Trust corruption cases. A local court found her guilty of abusing her position as prime minister by directing funds to the newly founded Zia Orphanage Trust. She was released last year, shortly after Hasina was forced from power.

Despite years of ill health and imprisonment, Khaleda vowed in November to campaign in elections set for February 2026 - the first vote since a mass uprising toppled Hasina. There had been plans earlier this month to fly her on a special air ambulance to London, but her condition was not stable enough. Khaleda's son, Tarique Rahman, only returned to Bangladesh after 17 years in self-imposed exile last week. He will lead the BNP party through the February 12 general election, and is expected to be put forward as prime minister if his party wins a majority.

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