Bangladesh’s First Female Prime Minister Khaleda Zia Dies at 80 After Prolonged Illness

Khaleda Zia, Bangladesh’s first female prime minister and a towering figure in the country’s politics for decades, passed away on Tuesday after a prolonged illness, her party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), said. She was 80.

According to her doctors, Khaleda Zia had been suffering from multiple age-related and chronic health conditions, including advanced cirrhosis of the liver, arthritis, diabetes, as well as chest and heart-related complications. Her health had reportedly deteriorated steadily in recent months.

Khaleda Zia served as prime minister twice, first from 1991 to 1996 and again from 2001 to 2006, and was the first woman to hold the office in Bangladesh. She was also one of South Asia’s most prominent female political leaders, often compared with her long-time rival and former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, with whom she dominated the country’s political landscape for decades.

Widow of former president Ziaur Rahman, who founded the BNP after his assassination in 1981, Khaleda Zia rose to prominence in the 1980s and played a key role in the mass movement that led to the fall of military ruler Hussain Muhammad Ershad in 1990. Under her leadership, the BNP emerged as one of Bangladesh’s two main political parties.

Her death marks the end of an era in Bangladeshi politics, drawing tributes from party leaders, supporters and political figures across the spectrum. The BNP said further details regarding funeral arrangements would be announced later.

Khaleda Zia’s passing comes at a time of intense political polarisation in Bangladesh, and her legacy is expected to remain a subject of both admiration and debate in the years to come.