Dhaka: Bangladesh saw a new dawn on Tuesday as Tarique Rahman was sworn in as prime minister to end a prolonged period of unrest and interim administration in the country.
Tarique thus became Bangladesh’s first male prime minister in 36 years, after female leaders from rival camps – Khaleda Zia of Bangladesh Nationalist Party and Sheikh Hasina of Awami League – dominated the country’s politics for decades.
The last male PM was Kazi Zafar Ahmed
, who was in office from August 1989 to December 1990.
Khaleda had two full terms as PM (1991-1996 and 2001-2006), while Hasina held the top post from 1996-2001 and again from 2009-2024 before she was ousted six months into her fifth term following a nationwide uprising in July 2024.
In between Khaleda and Hasina’s reigns, Bangladesh had a number of caretaker governments. Muhammad Yunus was the last such interim head, having been in charge from August 2024 to February 2026.
Khaleda’s son Tarique led BNP to landslide victory in the general elections earlier this month.
He was sworn in at the Jatiya Sangsad complex, where President Mohammed Shahabuddin administered the oath of office in the presence of senior political figures, diplomats and foreign observers.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla represented India at Tarique’s swearing-in ceremony.