Dhaka: Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia passed away on Monday morning at the age of 80. She had been undergoing treatment for a prolonged illness at Evercare Hospital in Dhaka.
Leaders of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), of which Khaleda Zia was the chairperson, confirmed that she breathed her last at around 6 a.m. She was the country’s first woman Prime Minister and a towering figure in Bangladesh’s political history. Her husband was the late Ziaur Rahman, former President of Bangladesh.
Khaleda Zia had been admitted to Evercare Hospital on November 23 following a deterioration in her health. As her condition worsened, she was placed on ventilator support on December 11. Two days prior to her death, her personal physician had stated that her condition was extremely critical.
Her passing marks the end of an era in Bangladeshi politics, where she played a central role for decades as a key opposition leader and head of the BNP.
