Bangladesh’s first female Prime Minister, Khaleda Zia, has passed away at 80.
The Bangladesh National Party (BNP) on Tuesday, December 29, announced that Zia had died in the hospital after a prolonged illness. reported Al Jazeera.
The BNP stated, “The BNP chairperson and former prime minister, the national leader Begum Khaleda Zia, passed away today at 6am, just after the Fajr (dawn) prayer.”
“Our beloved national leader is no longer with us. We pray for the forgiveness of her soul and request everyone to offer prayers for her departed soul,” it added.
As per the local media, the former prime minister was admitted to the Evercare Hospital in the capital, Dhaka, where she has been receiving medical assistance since last month.
She was hospitalised on November 23 with symptoms of lung infection. Her doctors later said that she had advanced cirrhosis of the liver, arthritis, diabetes, and chest and heart problems.
Bangladesh’s interim leader, Muhammad Yunus, in a post on X, expressed his “profound sorrow” on her passing while calling her a “symbol of the democratic movement.”
The three-time prime minister Zia had also faced several corruption cases, which she called politically motivated. d. However, the Supreme Court in January 2025 cleared her last case, clearing her way for February 2026 elections.
Zia went to the UK for medical treatment, and after returning back in May, she vowed to run a campaign for the upcoming elections, the first after Sheikh Hasina's exit.
