Overview
- Her party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, announced her death on Tuesday, with local reports quoting her doctor saying she died during treatment in the capital.
- Zia served as prime minister from 1991 to 1996 and from 2001 to 2006, becoming the first woman to hold the office in Bangladesh.
- She was imprisoned in 2018 on corruption charges under the government of rival Sheikh Hasina and was released after Hasina resigned following mass protests in 2024.
- She had been hospitalized since November with longstanding health problems, with Bangladeshi outlets reporting heart and lung infections.
- In November she said she intended to seek a parliamentary seat in the February 2026 vote, while her son Tarique Rahman returned last week from 17 years in exile and is being discussed as a potential successor in the party.