Education
Khaleda Zia finished government school for girls in Dinajpur, where her family moved after the partition of India in 1947, and then she graduated from college in the same city.
Khaleda Zia finished government school for girls in Dinajpur, where her family moved after the partition of India in 1947, and then she graduated from college in the same city.
Before her husband’s death, she wasn’t interested in politics much and she didn’t advertise her personality at all. She was a caring wife, mother and a housewife, who devoted all her time to her husband and two sons, and to her favourite flowers. It was her husband’s tragic death that has dramatically changed the way of life of the First Lady.
Begum Khaleda Zia became vice-chairman of Bangladesh Nationalist Party in March, 1983, and less than in a year she became its president. Having become the head of the BNP Zia formed the coalition of 7 parties and began struggling against the regime of General Ershad. This struggle was inexorable and sacrificial; Zia was arrested 8 times during the period of 9 years, she was persecuted and was a victim of despotic regime repressions. But due to these prosecutions for her beliefs, Begum Khaleda Zia became the most popular political leader of the country. On March 20, 1991 her party won the elections and got 138 of 300 seats in the Parliament. She was sworn and became the first woman serving as the Prime Minister in a presidential country. Amendments were made to the Constitution of Bangladesh and a parliamentary form of government was restored.
Begum Khaleda Zia became Prime Minister of Bangladesh for the second time during the regular elections in 1996. But most of the political parties boycotted the elections and soon Begum Khaleda Zia had to abdicate responsibility, to set temporal administration and to make amendments to the Constitution that were demanded by other political parties. During the next elections that were held in summer that year, Begum Kaleda Zia lost to the Avami League. According to her words, this happened because she was betrayed by her former allies.
During the Avami League ruling from 1996 to 2001 she became the leader of the opposition in the Parliament. She took part in the elections of 2001 in the Four Party Alliance. This time the election victory was even more convincing than 10 years ago. The party got 198 seats of 300. On October 10, 2001 Zia was sworn and became Prime Minister of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh for the third time.