Back خالدة ضياء Arabic خالدة ضياء ARZ খালেদা জিয়া Assamese Jaleda Zia AST খালেদা জিয়া Bengali/Bangla Khaleda Zia Catalan خالیدە زیا CKB Chálida Zijáová Czech Khaleda Zia Danish Khaleda Zia German
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Khaleda Zia | |
|---|---|
খালেদা জিয়া | |
 Begum Zia in 2010 | |
| 9th Prime Minister of Bangladesh | |
| In office 10 October 2001 – 29 October 2006 | |
| President | |
| Preceded by | Latifur Rahman (as Chief Adviser) |
| Succeeded by | Iajuddin Ahmed (as Chief Adviser) |
| In office 20 March 1991 – 30 March 1996 | |
| President |
|
| Preceded by | Kazi Zafar Ahmed |
| Succeeded by | Muhammad Habibur Rahman (as Chief Adviser) |
| 3rd Chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party | |
| Assumed office 10 May 1984 | |
| General Secretary | Mustafizur Rahman KM Obaidur Rahman Abdus Salam Talukder Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan Khandaker Delwar Hossain Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir |
| Preceded by | Abdus Sattar |
| 4th Leader of the Opposition | |
| In office 29 December 2008 – 9 January 2014 | |
| Prime Minister | Sheikh Hasina |
| Preceded by | Sheikh Hasina |
| Succeeded by | Rowshan Ershad |
| In office 23 June 1996 – 15 July 2001 | |
| Prime Minister | Sheikh Hasina |
| Preceded by | Sheikh Hasina |
| Succeeded by | Sheikh Hasina |
| 2nd First Lady of Bangladesh | |
| In role 21 April 1977 – 30 May 1981 | |
| President | Ziaur Rahman |
| Preceded by | Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib |
| Succeeded by | Rowshan Ershad |
| 7th Leader of the House | |
| In office 10 October 2001 – 29 October 2006 | |
| Preceded by | Sheikh Hasina |
| Succeeded by | Sheikh Hasina |
| In office 20 March 1991 – 30 March 1996 | |
| Preceded by | Kazi Zafar Ahmed |
| Succeeded by | Sheikh Hasina |
| Member of Parliament | |
| In office 29 December 2008 – 9 January 2014 | |
| Preceded by | Sayeed Iskander |
| Succeeded by | Shirin Akhter |
| Constituency | Feni-1 |
| In office 1 October 2001 – 29 October 2006 | |
| Preceded by | Zafar Imam |
| Succeeded by | Muhammad Jamiruddin Sircar |
| Constituency | Bogra-6 |
| In office 20 March 1991 – 15 July 2001 | |
| Preceded by | Zafar Imam |
| Succeeded by | Sayeed Iskander |
| Constituency | Feni-1 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 15 August 1945[note 1] Jalpaiguri, Bengal, British India |
| Political party | Bangladesh Nationalist Party (1979–present) |
| Other political affiliations |
|
| Spouse | |
| Children | |
| Relatives | See Majumder–Zia family |
| Awards | Full list |
| Signature |  |
Begum Khaleda Zia[a] (born August–September 1945) is a Bangladeshi politician, who served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh from 1991 to 1996 and again from 2001 to 2006.[3] She was the first female prime minister of Bangladesh and second female prime minister in the Muslim world, after Benazir Bhutto. She is the widow of one of the former President of Bangladesh, Ziaur Rahman. She is the chairperson and leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) since 1984, which was founded by her husband in 1978.[4]
Born in a Muslim family in Jalpaiguri, Khaleda came to national attention as the First Lady of Bangladesh after her husband Rahman became the president in 1977. After Rahman's assassination in 1981, Khaleda joined politics and came to lead the BNP. After a military coup in 1982, led by former army chief Lieutenant general Hussain Muhammad Ershad, She helped lead the movement for democracy until the fall of Ershad in 1990.[5] She became the prime minister following the victory of BNP in the 1991 general election.[6] She also served briefly in the short-lived government in 1996, when other parties had boycotted the first election because of election fraud accusations. In the next round of general elections of 1996, the Awami League under Sheikh Hasina came to power. Her party came to power again in 2001. She has been elected to five separate parliamentary constituencies in the general elections of 1991, 1996 and 2001. Since the 1980s, Zia's chief rival has been Awami League leader Sheikh Hasina. Since 1991, they have been the only two serving as the prime minister of Bangladesh.[7]
Following the end of her government's term in 2006, the scheduled January 2007 elections were delayed due to political violence and in-fighting, resulting in a bloodless military takeover of the caretaker government. During its interim rule, it charged Zia and her two sons with corruption.[8][9][10] Bangladesh was the most corrupt country in the world according to Corruption Perceptions Index during her second tenure from 2001 to 2006.[11][12] In its list of the 100 Most Powerful Women in the World, Forbes magazine ranked Zia at number 14 in 2004,[13] number 29 in 2005,[14] and number 33 in 2006.[15]
Zia was sentenced to a total of 17 years in prison for the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case and Zia Charitable Trust corruption case in 2018. A local court handed her the verdict for abusing power as the prime minister while disbursing a fund in favor of newly formed Zia Orphanage Trust.[16] Referring to the international and domestic legal experts, the U.S. State Department in its 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices opined that "Lack of evidence to support the conviction" suggests the case was a political ploy to remove her from the electoral process.[17] Amnesty International raised concerns that her "fair trial rights are not respected".[18] Zia was facing a total 36 cases against her including the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption Case and Zia Charitable Trust corruption case.[19] On 27 November 2024, Zia was acquitted in these graft cases.[20][21]
Zia was transferred to a hospital for medical treatment in April 2019.[22] In March 2020, she was released for six months on humanitarian grounds with the conditions that she would stay at her home in Gulshan, Dhaka and not travel abroad.[23] She is also informally prohibited from making political moves, as doing so would result in re-imprisonment.[24] In September 2022, the 6-month period suspension of her sentence was granted for the sixth consecutive time.[25] She remained in Dhaka Central Jail from 2018 to 2020 and later conditionally freed for medical treatment until 5 August 2024,[26] after a mass uprising resulted in incumbent prime minister Hasina fleeing to India and the Bangladesh President issuing a release order of Zia.[27][28]
- ^ a b 'বেগম খালেদা জিয়া: হার লাইফ, হার স্টোরি'র মোড়ক উন্মোচন. banglanews24.com (in Bengali). 19 November 2018. Archived from the original on 11 August 2023.
- ^ a b Mahmood, Sumon (8 February 2018). এই প্রথম দণ্ড নিয়ে বন্দি খালেদা. bdnews24.com (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 11 August 2023.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
bpediawas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Crossette, Barbara (17 October 1993). "Conversations: Khaleda Zia; A Woman Leader for a Land That Defies Islamic Stereotypes". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 29 February 2024. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
- ^ Crossette, Barbara (9 December 1990). "Revolution Brings Bangladesh Hope". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 4 November 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
- ^ Crossette, Barbara (March 1991). "General's Widow Wins Bangladesh Vote". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 29 October 2021. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
- ^ Skard, Torild (2014). "Khaleda Zia". Women of Power – Half a century of female presidents and prime ministers worldwide. Bristol: Policy Press. ISBN 978-1-44731-578-0.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
jazeerawas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
corruptionwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
detainedwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ bdnews24.com. "Bangladesh billed as most corrupt country for 5th time, 1st lead". bdnews24.com. Archived from the original on 25 February 2024. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Khaleda Zia, ex-Bangladesh PM and Sheikh Hasina rival, to be released from jail". Hindustan Times. 6 August 2024. Archived from the original on 6 August 2024. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
- ^ "#14: Begum Khaleda Zia, Prime Minister of Bangladesh". Forbes 100 Most Powerful Women in the World. 2004. Archived from the original on 14 June 2012. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
- ^ "#29 Khaleda Zia, Prime minister, Bangladesh". The 100 Most Powerful Women. 2005. Archived from the original on 28 December 2005. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
- ^ "#33 Khaleda Zia, Prime Minister, Bangladesh". The 100 Most Powerful Women. 31 August 2006. Archived from the original on 10 August 2013. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
- ^ "'No one should abuse state power in such manner'". Dhaka Tribune. 30 October 2018. Archived from the original on 2 December 2021.
- ^ "2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Bangladesh". U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. 30 March 2021. Archived from the original on 30 March 2021. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
- ^ "Bangladesh: Guarantee Access to Health Care and Fair Trial Rights to Detained Former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia". Amnesty International. 19 December 2019. Archived from the original on 2 December 2021.
- ^ "Three dozen cases Khaleda Zia faces". The Business Standard. 8 February 2020. Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
- ^ "Khaleda acquitted in Zia Charitable Trust graft case". The Daily Star. 27 November 2024.
- ^ "বড়পুকুরিয়া মামলায় খালেদা জিয়াসহ তিনজন খালাস". Jugantor (in Bengali). 27 November 2024.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
bsmmuwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Khaleda Zia freed, gets back home". The Daily Star. 26 March 2020. Archived from the original on 28 March 2020. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
- ^ "How Are Bangladesh's Political Parties Preparing for the Next General Elections?". The Wire. Archived from the original on 29 December 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
Since her release, Zia, now 76, has refrained from making any political moves. Any attempt to re-enter politics would mean a return to jail.
- ^ "Ministry agrees to extend Khaleda Zia's release period by another 6 months". Dhaka Tribune. 18 September 2022. Archived from the original on 5 January 2023. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
- ^ "Bangladesh frees Hasina rival Khaleda Zia from house arrest". Al Jazeera English. 6 August 2024. Archived from the original on 22 September 2024.
- ^ "Bangladesh ex-Prime Minister Khaleda Zia freed after arch-rival toppled". The Hindu. 6 August 2024.
- ^ "Khaleda Zia released: Bangabhaban". The Daily Star. 6 August 2024. Archived from the original on 15 August 2024.
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