Bangladesh former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia dies, aged 80

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Bangladesh’s first female prime minister dies after a prolonged illness in Dhaka, her party says.

Published On 30 Dec 2025

Bangladesh’s first female prime minister, Khaleda ⁠Zia, has died at a hospital in the country’s capital, Dhaka, after a ‍prolonged illness, according to her party and local media.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) said Khaleda died at 6am local time (00:00 GMT). She was 80 years old.

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“Our beloved national leader is no longer with us. She left us at 6am today,” the BNP said in the statement posted on Facebook.

“We pray for the forgiveness of her soul and request everyone to offer prayers for her departed soul,” it added.

Khaleda had advanced cirrhosis ‌of the liver, arthritis, diabetes, and chest ‌and heart ‌problems, her doctors said.

She died at the Evercare Hospital in Dhaka, where she was admitted on November 23 with symptoms of a lung infection, according to The Daily Star.

During her final days, Bangladesh’s interim leader, Muhammad Yunus, had asked the people to pray for Khaleda, calling her a “source of utmost inspiration for the nation”.

Khaleda was jailed for corruption in 2018 under then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government, which also blocked her from travelling abroad for medical treatment.

She was released last year, shortly after Hasina was forced from power.

There had been plans earlier this month to fly her on a special air ambulance to London, but her condition was not stable enough.

Her son, political heavyweight Tarique Rahman, only returned to Bangladesh after 17 years in self-imposed exile on Thursday, and was welcomed back by large crowds of joyous supporters.

Rahman will lead the BNP through the February 12 general election, and is expected to be put forward as prime minister if his party wins a majority.

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