Bangladesh’s first woman prime minister, Khaleda Zia, passed away on Tuesday at the age of 80 following a long period of ill health, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) confirmed. Her medical team said she had been suffering from advanced liver cirrhosis along with arthritis, diabetes, and complications related to her chest and heart.
“Khaleda Zia breathed her last at around 6:00 am, shortly after the Fajr prayer,” the BNP said in a statement shared on its official Facebook page.
Begum Khaleda Zia was admitted to the capital’s Evercare Hospital on November 23 with a lung infection. She was undergoing treatment at the hospital’s Coronary Care Unit (CCU) under the supervision of local and foreign specialist doctors from the medical board, the local media reported.
Khaleda Zia Cause Of Death
Begum Khaleda was suffering from various physical ailments including heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, liver cirrhosis, and kidney complications for a long time. She went to London on January 8 for advanced treatment.
After undergoing treatment at the London Clinic for 17 consecutive days, she received treatment at her son Tarique Rahman’s house on January 25 under the supervision of London Clinic specialist doctors Professor Patrick Kennedy and Professor Jennifer Cross. The BNP Chairperson returned to Bangladesh on May 6 after receiving advanced treatment in the UK.
The BNP Chairperson and former Prime Minister, Begum Khaleda Zia, passed away today at 6:00 a.m., shortly after the Fajr prayer. Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji‘un. We pray for the forgiveness of her soul and request everyone to offer prayers for her departed soul. pic.twitter.com/KY2948UPD5
— Bangladesh Nationalist Party-BNP (@bdbnp78) December 30, 2025
First Woman Prime Minister Of Bangladesh
Begum Khaleda Zia served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh from 1991 to 1996 and again from 2001 to 2006. She was the first female Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She is the widow of former President of Bangladesh and army commander Ziaur Rahman.
She was convicted in 2018 in a 2008 corruption case related to misappropriating funds meant for orphans.
With inputs from agencies
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
