Khaleda Zia, first female Bangladesh prime minister, dies aged 80 | Bangladesh

Former Bangladesh prime minister Khaleda Zia, whose arch rivalry with Sheikh Hasina determined the country’s politics for a generation, has died, her political party said on Tuesday. He was 80 years old.

In the statement made by the party, it was said: “BNP chairperson and former prime minister, national leader Begum Halide Ziya passed away at 6 am today, just after the morning prayer.”

“We pray for the forgiveness of his soul and ask everyone to pray for his deceased soul,” the statement said.

Zia was the country’s first female prime minister.

He had faced corruption cases that he said were politically motivated, but in January 2025, the high court acquitted Zia in the last corruption case filed against him, allowing him to run in the elections in February.

He returned to the country in May after receiving medical treatment in England.

In early January, Bangladesh’s interim government allowed her to travel abroad after Hasina’s government rejected previous requests at least 18 times.

Despite years of health problems and imprisonment, Zia vowed in November to campaign in elections to be held in February 2026; It was the first vote since last year’s mass uprising that ousted arch-rival Sheikh Hasina. Zia’s BNP is widely seen as the frontrunner.

But in late November he was admitted to hospital, where, despite the best efforts of medics, his condition declined due to a series of health problems.

Interim leader Muhammad Younis called on the nation to pray for Zia in his final days, calling him “the greatest inspiration for the nation”.

Zia was married to president Ziaur Rahman, who was killed during the 1981 coup. Zia later helped create a mass movement against the military dictator who was ousted in 1990.

He won his first term in 1991 and served again starting in 2001. Her rivals in that election and several since then were Hasina.

With Associated Press and Agence France-Presse