Khaleda Zia facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Khaleda Zia
Begum Zia in 2010
9th Prime Minister of Bangladesh
In office 10 October 2001 – 29 October 2006
President	Shahabuddin Ahmed Badruddoza Chowdhury Iajuddin Ahmed
Preceded by	Latifur Rahman (Acting)
Succeeded by	Iajuddin Ahmed (Acting)
In office 20 March 1991 – 30 March 1996
President	Shahabuddin Ahmed (Acting) Abdur Rahman Biswas
Preceded by	Kazi Zafar Ahmed
Succeeded by	Muhammad Habibur Rahman
Personal details
Born	Khaleda Khanam Putul 1945 Dinajpur, Bengal Presidency, British India
Spouse(s)	Ziaur Rahman ​ (m. 1960⁠–⁠1981)​

Khaleda Zia (born Khaleda Khanam Putul in 1945) is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh from 1991 to 1996, and again from 2001 to 2006. She was the first woman in the country's history and second in the Muslim majority countries to head a democratic government as prime minister. She was the First Lady of Bangladesh during the presidency of her husband Ziaur Rahman. She is the current chairperson and leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) which was founded by Rahman in the late 1970s.

Shri Somnath Chatterjee and the Bangladesh Prime Minister 2006

After a military coup in 1982, led by Army Chief General H M Ershad, Zia helped lead the continuing movement for democracy until the fall of military dictator Ershad in 1990. She became prime minister following the victory of the BNP in the 1991 general election. She also served briefly in the short-lived government in 1996, when other parties had boycotted the first election.

In the next round of general elections of 1996, the Awami League came to power. Her party came to power again in 2001. She has been elected to five separate parliamentary constituencies in the general elections of 1991, 1996 and 2001. For the better part of the last two decades, Zia's chief rival has been Awami League leader Sheikh Hasina.

In its list of the 100 Most Powerful Women in the World, Forbes magazine ranked Zia at number 14 in 2004, number 29 in 2005, and number 33 in 2006.

The Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Ms Khaleda Zia 2006

On 24 May 2011, the New Jersey State Senate honoured Zia as a "Fighter for Democracy". It was the first time the state Senate had so honoured any foreign leader and reflects the state's increasing population of immigrants and descendants from South Asia.

Following her government's term end in 2006, the scheduled January 2007 elections were delayed due to political violence and in-fighting, resulting in a bloodless military takeover of the caretaker government. During its rule, it charged Zia and her two sons with corruption.

In February 2018, Zia was jailed for five years for corruption. She was found guilty of embezzling the funds for an orphanage trust set up when she was prime minister.

Images for kids

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  Zia with husband Ziaur Rahman in 1979

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  Zia in 1979

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  Zia with US President Bill Clinton at the White House.

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  Zia with the President of Brazil Lula da Silva (2004)

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  Zia with the Indian Leader of Opposition L. K. Advani in New Delhi (2006)

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  British Foreign Office Minister Henry Bellingham meeting Zia (2011)

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  US Secretary John Kerry greets Zia at the US Embassy Dhaka (2016)

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  Deshnetri Begum Khaleda Zia Hall at the University of Chittagong.