Famouse parson
Begum Khaleda Zia
(Bengali: খালেদা জিয়া)
(Undefined birthday) is the
former First Lady of
Bangladesh (1977–1981),
and then Prime Minister of
Bangladesh, having
served from 1991 to 1996,
becoming the first
woman in the country's
history and second in the
Muslim world (only after
Ms Benazir Bhutto of
Pakistan) to head a
democratic government
as prime minister. She
served again from 2001 to
2006. She is the widow of
the assassinated President
and former army chief
Ziaur Rahman, and leads
his old party Bangladesh
Nationalist Party.
Of 39 years of
independence of
Bangladesh, she has ruled
the country for about 10
years (being the longest
serving Prime Minister of
Bangladesh). She has
been elected to five
separate parliamentary
constituencies in the
general elections of 1991,
1996, and 2001.
Personal life
Khaleda Zia (Putul) was
born on 15 August 1945
to Iskandar Majumder and
Taiyaba Majumder in
Birbhum district of West
Bengal province, India and
later migrated with her
family to Dinajpur District.
Khaleda Zia is the
youngest in a family of
four. She has two
brothers, Major (Retd.)
Sayeed Iskandar, a retired
military official, and
Shamim Iskander, an
engineer of Biman
Bangladesh Airlines, and
two elder sisters, late
Khurshid Jahan Hoq
(Chocolate Aapa), former
Women's Welfare
Minister, and another
sister who is deceased.
The family originally hails
from Fulgazi Upazila of
Feni District, Bangladesh.
She studied in Dinajpur
Government Girls High
School. In 1960, when
she was 20, she married
Ziaur Rahman. She is the
current leader of the
opposition party.
First Lady
Former president
Khondaker Mostaq
Ahmad made her
husband Major General
Ziaur Rahman Chief of
Staff of Bangladesh Army
after Assassination of
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman,
who subsequently
assumed power as Chief
Martial Law Administrator
following a series of
military coups on and
following National
Revolution and Solidarity
Day .
Political career
Until the assassination of
her husband, Ziaur
Rahman, in an abortive
military coup in
Chittagong on 30 May
1981, Khaleda Zia had
taken little interest in either
politics or public life. Even
when her husband
assumed power after the
political changes in 1975,
she remained a shy and
withdrawn housewife
spending most of her
time raising her two sons,
Tareq Rahman (Pino) and
Arafat Rahman (Coco).
After the assassination of
Ziaur Rahman, Vice-
President Justice Abdus
Sattar took over as the
Acting President and also
as Chairman of the BNP.
Chief of Staff of
Bangladesh Army
Lieutenant General
Hossain Mohammad
Ershad overthrew Justice
Sattar on March 24, 1982.
In March 1983, Justice
Sattar appointed Khaleda
Zia as vice-chairman of
the BNP. In February
1984, she became the
chairperson as Justice
Sattar retired from politics.
On August 10, 1984 the
party elected her the
chairperson.
Under the leadership of
Begum Zia, the BNP
formed a seven-party
alliance in 1983 and
launched a relentless
struggle against the
autocratic regime of
Lieutenant General
Hussain Mohammad
Ershad . During the 9-
year-long struggle against
Ershad, Begum Zia did not
compromise with his
autocratic and illegitimate
government. For her strict
adherence to the
principles, the
government restricted her
movements by using
prohibitive laws. She was
detained seven times in
eight years. But
undaunted, Begum Zia
continued to provide
leadership in the
movement for ousting
Ershad. Like Zia before
him, Ershad attempted to
give his rule a civilian and
democratic face, but
Khaleda Zia boycotted all
elections during his rule.
Khaleda was detained
seven times during
almost nine years of
autocratic rule under
President Ershad before
his resignation on 6
December 1990.
In the face of a mass
upsurge spearheaded by
alliances led by
