Bangladesh’s Ex-PM Khaleda Zia Dies at Eighty
Zia, who broke barriers as the nation's first female premier and widow of Ziaur Rahman—a former Bangladeshi president who established the BNP—had battled multiple severe health conditions for years, including cardiac disease, diabetes, arthritis, liver cirrhosis, and renal failure.
Medical staff admitted her to Evercare Hospital in Dhaka on November 23 after she experienced respiratory distress. Her deteriorating state prompted a transfer to the facility's intensive care unit on November 27.
Physicians managing her care characterized her status as critically grave. She required life support machinery and dialysis treatments during her final days.
Bangladesh's chief advisor, Muhammad Yunus, released a tribute stating that Zia's death represents the loss of a national protector.
"I am deeply saddened and grief-stricken by her death," he said.
She was not merely the leader of a political party but represented an important chapter in the history of Bangladesh, said Yunus, adding that considering her contributions, her long struggle and the deep public sentiment towards her, the government declared her a Very, Very Important Person of the State earlier this month.
After her husband's death, Zia launched her political career in 1982. Her commanding presence proved instrumental in toppling President Hussain Muhammad Ershad's nine-year authoritarian regime, Yunus noted.
"Because of her political success, Khaleda Zia became a victim of extreme political vengeance. She was sentenced to 17 years in prison in false and fabricated cases and had to endure long periods of incarceration," Yunus said.
Multiple political organizations, including Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, issued condolence statements following her passing.
Zia's medical condition severely declined during her confinement under former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, whose administration was toppled last year, according to the BNP. Party officials have accused Hasina of blocking Zia's access to proper medical attention and barring international travel for specialized treatment.
Authorities freed Zia from house detention shortly after Hasina escaped to India in August last year. She departed for the UK in January for medical intervention.
Courts imprisoned her in February 2018 for five years following corruption convictions, though officials granted house arrest in March 2020 as her health deteriorated.
This January, Bangladesh's Supreme Court cleared Zia of the final corruption charges against her, which would have permitted her candidacy in February's national election.
Zia earned recognition as the "uncompromising leader" in Bangladeshi politics. She orchestrated a relentless, nine-year mass resistance campaign against Ershad's military government and secured the position of Bangladesh's first female prime minister in 1991.
She maintained her role as the principal symbolic and actual opposition presence throughout most of Sheikh Hasina's 15-year governance period.
Her son Tarique Rahman had resided in the UK since 2008 and returned home last week following 17 years abroad to visit his mother and assume party leadership. He indicated his delayed return stemmed from security and political considerations, as public criticism mounted over his absence despite his mother's critical condition.
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