Khaleda Zia

Begum Khaleda Zia ( Bengali: খালেদা জিয়া Khaleda Jiya, born August 15, 1945 in Dinajpur ) is a national conservative Bengali politician and chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. She was from 1991 to 1996 and from 2001 to 2006 Prime Minister of Bangladesh.

Her husband, the then President Ziaur Rahman was assassinated in 1981 during a failed military coup. Then it was even politically active and initially fought against the authoritarian government Hussain Muhammad Ershads. Because of an election boycott call, she was placed under house arrest in 1986. Together with the chairman of the Awami League, Sheikh Hasina Wajed, she led a coalition of opposition groups, which resulted in the overthrow Ershads and thus paved the way for the democratic election in 1991.

As the first woman in the premiership they reigned in the years 1991 to 1996, but was replaced after this period of her political rival Sheikh Hasina as prime minister. Since 8 October 2001 she reigned until the change of government, along with two Islamist coalition partners, as it was strongly criticized by liberal forces in the country. Although international observers reported a massive restriction of press freedom in Bangladesh, Khaleda Zia said, however, until 2004, in Bangladesh there is complete freedom of the press. On 27 October 2006 ended their term of office.

Khaleda Zia combines a fierce rivalry with Hasina Wajed with which they alternated in office. End of December 2008 Zia lost the parliamentary elections with their Bangladeshi Nationalist Party (BNP ) against Wajed and their center-left party Awami League, which won more than three -quarters of the 300 seats to be awarded.