Sheikh Hasina

Sheikh Hasina first became Bangladesh's prime minister in June 1996, serving until 2001, and then again assumed office January 2009, serving until August 2024.

Hasina was born on September 28, 1947, in Tungipara, East Bengal, the daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who would become the founding father and first president of Bangladesh. Hasina actively participated in the mass upsurge of 1969 and at the time of the Liberation War of 1971, she was imprisoned by the Pakistani occupation army along with her husband, mother, sister and brother. She graduated from the University of Dhaka in 1973.

On August 15, 1975, army officers assassinated Hasina's father and other members of her family. Hasina and Sheikh Rehana, her younger sister, were the only survivors as they were in West Germany at the time. In 1981, while living in exile, Hasina was elected the president of the Awami League and returned to Bangladesh. From 1982-1986, she was put under house arrest several times.

Hasina won three seats in the 1986 parliamentary election and became leader of the opposition in parliament. In 1996, the Awami League returned to power in Bangladesh but lost the majority in the 2001 elections. Under Hasina's leadership, the Awami League won a landslide victory in the 9th Parliament Election on December 19, 2008, and Hasina took the oath as prime minister of Bangladesh on January 6, 2009. In 2024, several months after an election that was widely criticized as fraudulent, Hasina fled to India amidst wide-spread protests, ending her term in office.

Photo from http://www.bdembassy.jp/official/detail/c_id/74813856275/sc_id/886283177653

Columbia University (n.d.). “Sheikh Hasina” World Leaders Forum. Retrieved December 2, 2022. https://worldleaders.columbia.edu/directory/sheikh-hasina

Council of Women World Leaders (n.d.). “SHEIKH HASINA” Council of Women World Leaders. Retrieved December 2, 2022. https://www.councilwomenworldleaders.org/sheikh-hasina.html

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica (2008, December 29). “Sheikh Hasina Wazed” Britannica. Retrieved September 12, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sheikh-Hasina-Wazed