BANGLADESH’S first woman Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, who played a major role in restoring democracy after a period of tumultuous military rule and dominated the country’s politics for decades, died on Tuesday after a prolonged illness. She was 80.

 

“My mother is no more,” Zia’s elder son and Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s (BNP) acting Chairman Trique Rahman said. Zia was a three-time Prime Minister and held the position of chairperson of BNP. Her personal physician, Dr AZM Zahid Hossain, said she breathed her last early on Tuesday while receiving treatment at Evercare Hospital in Dhaka.

 

Zia’s family members, including her elder son Tarique Rahman, his wife Zubaida Rahman, and their daughter Zaima, were present at the hospital. BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir was also at the hospital. Her party said she passed away at 6:00 am local time, “just after Fajr prayer”. Zia’s funeral will be held on Wednesday after Zohr prayers at Parliament’s South Plaza and the adjoining Manik Mia Avenue, Law Advisor Asif Nazrul said.

 

She will later be laid to rest with full State honours beside the grave of her husband, former President and BNP founder Ziaur Rahman, at Zia Udyan in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in Dhaka, Nazrul told reporters after a special meeting of the interim Government’s Advisory Council at the State guest house Jamuna. BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir attended the meeting as a special invitee. BNP also declared seven days of official mourning following the death of its chairperson.

 

Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus announced a three-day State mourning and a one-day general holiday. “At the death of former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia, I declare three days of state mourning and a one-day general holiday tomorrow on the day of her Namaz-e-Janaza (funeral prayers),” he said.

 

Yunus urged people to maintain discipline and order during the funeral prayers and the observance of mourning across the country. Bangladesh’s deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also expressed condolences over the death of her archrival Khaleda Zia.

 

In a condolence message posted on the Awami League’s X account on Tuesday, Hasina described Zia as a significant figure in the country’s political history. The 78-year-old Awami League leader highlighted her role as Bangladesh’s first woman Prime Minister and her contributions to the struggle to establish democracy.

 

Zia had been suffering from multiple complex and chronic health conditions and infection-related problems. She was admitted to Evercare Hospital on November 23 for routine tests, during which doctors detected a chest infection and decided to keep her under observation.

 

Her condition worsened on November 27, prompting her transfer to the hospital’s Coronary Care Unit (CCU). In the early hours of Tuesday, Dr Hossain, who was also a member of the medical board overseeing her treatment, described her condition as “very critical”. As her condition deteriorated, Rahman, along with other family members, rushed to the hospital.

 

Zia last appeared in public on November 21 when she joined the Armed Forces Day reception at Dhaka Cantonment. In his condolence message, Chief Advisor Yunus said he was “deeply saddened and griefs tricken” by the passing of Zia, noting that the nation had lost not just a political leader but a towering states woman who represented an important chapter in Bangladesh’s history.