Former Bangladeshi prime minister Khaleda Zia dies aged 80

First woman elected prime minister of the country had faced corruption cases she said were politically motivated

Former Bangladeshi prime minister Khaleda Zia has died aged 80.

Former Bangladeshi prime minister Khaleda Zia, whose long rivalry with another former premier shaped the country’s politics for a generation, has died, her Bangladesh Nationalist Party said on Tuesday. She was 80.

Ms Zia was the first woman elected prime minister of Bangladesh.

She had faced corruption cases that she said were politically motivated. In January this year, the Supreme Court acquitted Ms Zia in the final case against her, a ruling that would have allowed her to contest February’s general election.

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The BNP said that after Ms Zia was released from prison on medical grounds in 2020, her family made at least 18 requests to the administration of her political rival, former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, seeking permission for her to receive treatment abroad, but all were rejected.

Following Ms Hasina’s ouster last year, an interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus approved the request. Ms Zia travelled to London in January and returned to Bangladesh in May.

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

Ms Zia was silent about politics for years and did not attend political rallies, but she remained the BNP chairwoman until her death. Her son Rahman, who has been the party’s acting chairman since 2018, will lead the party through the February 12 general election, and is expected to be put forward as prime minister if his party wins a majority.