Former Bangladeshi prime minister Khaleda Zia, whose archrivalry with Sheikh Hasina defined the country’s politics for a generation, has died, her political party said on Tuesday. She was 80.
“The BNP chairperson and former prime minister, the national leader Begum Khaleda Zia, passed away today at 6am, just after the Fajr (dawn) prayer,” the party said in a statement.
“We pray for the forgiveness of her soul and request everyone to offer prayers for her departed soul,” it added.
Zia was the country’s first female prime minister.
She had faced corruption cases she said were politically motivated, but in January 2025 the supreme court acquitted Zia in the last corruption case against her, which would have let her run in February’s election.
She had returned to the country in May after undergoing medical treatment in the UK.
In early January, Bangladesh’s interim government had allowed her to travel abroad after Hasina’s government rejected previous requests at least 18 times.
Despite years of ill health and imprisonment, Zia vowed in November to campaign in elections set for February 2026 – the first vote since a mass uprising toppled her arch-rival Sheikh Hasina last year. Zia’s BNP is widely seen as a frontrunner.
But in late November she was rushed to hospital, where, despite the best efforts of medics, her condition declined from a raft of health issues.
During her final days, interim leader Muhammad Yunus called for the nation to pray for Zia, calling her a “source of utmost inspiration for the nation”.
Zia was married to president Ziaur Rahman, who was killed during a 1981 coup. Zia then helped build a mass movement against the military dictator, who was finally ousted in 1990.
She won her first term in 1991 and served again from 2001. Her opponent in that election and several since was Hasina.
With Associated Press and Agence France-Presse
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