Sheikh Hasina Prime Minister of Bangladesh. Country: Bangladesh

Biography of Sheikh Hasina

Sheikh Hasina, the current Prime Minister of Bangladesh, has been leading the country since 2009. Born in the Gopalganj district, she is the daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the first head of independent Bangladesh, also known as the "Father of the Nation". In 1969, she participated in student protests in Dhaka. During the war for independence in 1971, she was arrested by the Pakistani occupation army.

Tragedy struck in August 1975 when Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and around 20 members of his family were assassinated during a military coup. Sheikh Hasina, however, was in West Germany at the time, and only she and her sister, who was also abroad during the coup, survived. In 1981, while still overseas, she was elected as the leader of the Awami League, a party once led by her father. She returned to Bangladesh that same year.

Sheikh Hasina became a staunch opponent of the regime of Hossain Mohammad Ershad, who initially served as a military administrator and later became the president of the country. She organized mass protests against his rule and was frequently arrested. In 1991, after Ershad stepped down from power and democracy was restored, her Awami League lost the parliamentary elections to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party led by Khaleda Zia.

The 1991 elections set the stage for the political landscape of the 90s and beyond, with the main power struggle unfolding between these two parties. In March 1996, Sheikh Hasina boycotted the upcoming elections, forcing Khaleda Zia to form an interim government and call for new elections, which Sheikh Hasina went on to win. She became the first Prime Minister of Bangladesh to complete a full five-year term.

During her tenure, Sheikh Hasina improved relations with India and signed an agreement on the sharing of the Ganges River waters. However, economic growth slowed down, and the country suffered significant damage from recurrent floods. In 1999, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party initiated a nationwide political strike calling for Sheikh Hasina's resignation, but she firmly refused to step down prematurely.

The lead-up to the 2001 elections was tense, with multiple acts of terrorism resulting in over a hundred deaths. After a devastating defeat in the elections, Sheikh Hasina accused the Bangladesh Nationalist Party of rigging, but still resigned from her position. In 2004, while delivering a speech in Dhaka, an assassination attempt was made on her, resulting in the death of 19 people. She sustained minor injuries. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party vehemently denied any involvement in the attack.

Amidst a state of emergency declared by the military before the 2007 elections, Sheikh Hasina was arrested. However, in June 2008, she was able to leave the country and immigrate to the United States. In November 2008, Sheikh Hasina returned to Bangladesh to lead her party in the new parliamentary elections scheduled for December 29, 2008. The Awami League secured a convincing victory and formed the government. Sheikh Hasina took office as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh on January 6, 2009.