SHEIKH HASINA)(born 28 September 1947) [1] is the current Prime Minister of Bangladesh , in office since January 2009. She previously served as Prime Minister from 1996 to 2001, and she has led the Bangladesh Awami League since 1981. She is the eldest of five children of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father and first President of Bangladesh, and widow of the nuclear scientist M. A. Wazed Miah . Hasinas political career has spanned more than four decades during which she has been both Prime Minister and opposition leader. As opposition leader, she was the target of an assassination attempt in 2004. In 2007, she was arrested for corruption and charged with murder by the military-backed Caretaker Government during the 2006–2008 Bangladeshi political crisis , when the generals imposed a state of emergency . She returned as Prime Minister after a landslide victory for the Awami League-led Grand Alliance in 2008 , when they took two-thirds of the seats in parliament. In January 2014 she became the prime minister for the third time after winning the 2014 parliamentary election , which was boycotted by the main opposition BNP-led alliance. Hasina is considered one of the most powerful women in the world, ranking 47th on Forbes list of the 100 most powerful women in the world.[3] For the better part of the last two decades, Hasinas chief rival has been BNP leader Khaleda Zia. The two women have alternated as non-interim Prime Ministers since 1991. Early life Hasina is the daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman , first president of Bangladesh, and Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib. Hasina was not in Bangladesh when her father was assassinated on 15 August 1975. She was not allowed to return to the country until after she was elected to lead the Awami League Party in February 1981 and arrived on 17 May 1981. [4] Early political career Movement against General Ershads presidency While living in self-exile in India after her father and familys assassination in 1975 (only she and a sister survived as they were in West Germany ), Hasina was elected President of the Bangladesh Awami League in 1981. After she returned to Bangladesh, President Ziaur Rahman was assassinated on 30 May 1981 in an attempted military coup. General Hossain Mohammad Ershad and most of the army remained loyal to the government. The following year, Ershad captured power through a bloodless coup and declared martial law , suppressing political party activity and suspending the constitution. The constitution was later restored in 1986 after the general election won by General Ershads Jatiya Party won, and martial law was withdrawn. Hasina was in and out of detention throughout the 1980s. In 1984, Hasina was put under house arrest in February and again in November. In March 1985, she was put under house arrest for three months. Her party, along with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party , led by Ziaur Rahmans widow Khaleda Zia, continued to work to restore democratically elected government, which they achieved by the democratic election in 1991, won by the BNP. Leader of the opposition, 1986-87 Hasina and the Awami League participated in the 1986 parliamentary elections held under President Ershad. She served as the leader of the opposition in 1986–1987. Hasinas decision to take part in the election has been criticised by her opponents, since the election was held under the martial law, and the other main opposition group, led by Khaleda Zia, boycotted the poll. However, her supporters maintained that she used the platform effectively to challenge Ershads rule. Ershad dissolved the parliament in December 1987 when Hasina and her Awami League resigned from the parliament in an attempt to call for a fresh general election to be held under a neutral government. During November and December in 1987, mass uprising happened in Dhaka, several people were killed including Noor Hossain, a Hasina supporter. 1991 election After several years of autocratic rule, widespread protests and strikes created so much unrest that the economy was not functioning. A huge mass protest in December 1990 ousted General Ershad from the power, who resigned in favour of his Vice President Justice Shahabuddin. The caretaker government , headed by Shahabuddin Ahmed , the Chief Justice of the Bangladesh Supreme Court , administered a general election for the parliament. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) led by Khaleda Zia won a general majority, and Hasinas Awami League emerged as the largest opposition party. Among 3 constituencies Hasina fought, she lost in two and won in one. Accepting election defeat, Hasina offered resignation as the party president but stayed on at the request of party leaders. The 1991–1996 period Politics in Bangladesh took a decisive turn in 1994, after Magura by-elections . This election was held after the death of the MP for that constituency, a member of Hasinas party. The Awami League expected to win back the seat. But the BNP candidate won through rigging and manipulation, as per the neutral observer who came to witness the election. 1996 elections The Awami League , with other opposition parties, demanded that the next general elections be held under a neutral caretaker government, and that provision for caretaker governments to manage elections be incorporated in the constitution. The ruling BNP refused to act on these demands. Opposition parties launched an unprecedented campaign, calling strikes for weeks on end. The government accused them of destroying the economy while the opposition countered that BNP could solve this problem by acceding to their demands. In late 1995, the MPs of the Awami League and other parties resigned from the parliament. Parliament completed its term and a general election was held on 15 February 1996. The election was boycotted by all major parties except the ruling BNP. Hasina described the election as a farce. The new parliament, composed mostly of BNP members, amended the constitution to create provisions for a caretaker government (CTG). The next parliamentary elections on 30 June 1996 were held under a neutral caretaker government headed by retired chief Justice Muhammad Habibur Rahman . First term as Prime Minister, 1996-2001 Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina with US President Bill Clinton at the Prime Ministers Office in Dhaka, 2000. Hasina served her first term as prime minister of Bangladesh from 1996-2001. 2001 election In the 2001 election, although winning 40% of the popular vote (slightly less than the BNPs 41%), the Awami League won just 62 seats in the Parliament, while the Four Party Alliance led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party won 234 seats, giving them a two-thirds majority in Parliament. Hasina herself ran in three constituencies [citation needed ] , and was defeated in a constituency in Rangpur , which included her husbands home town, but won in two other seats. Hasina and the Awami League rejected the results, claiming that the election was rigged with the help of the President and the caretaker government. The international community was largely satisfied with the elections, and the Four Party Alliance went on to form the government. Opposition period, 2001-2008 The Awami League MPs were irregular in attending the Parliament during the following period. [citation needed ] In late 2003, the Awami League started its first major anti- government movement, culminating in the declaration by party general secretary Abdul Jolil that the government would fall before 30 April 2004. This failed to happen and was seen as a blow to the party and Hasina, who had implicitly supported Jalil. 2004 assassination attempt See also: 2004 Dhaka grenade attack During her second term as leader of the opposition, political unrest and violence increased. Ahsanullah Master, an MP, was killed in 2004. This was followed by a grenade attack on an Awami League gathering in Dhaka, resulting in the death of 21 party supporters, including party womens secretary Ivy Rahman . Shah M S Kibria , Hasinas former finance minister, was also killed that year, in a grenade attack in Sylhet that year. In June 2005, A.B.M. Mohiuddin Chowdhury, an incumbent of the Awami League, won the important mayoral election in Chittagong, the port city and second-largest city in Bangladesh. This election was seen as a showdown between the opposition and the ruling party. Caretaker government and military intervention, October 2006–2008 The months preceding the planned January 22, 2007, elections were filled with political unrest and controversy. Following the end of Khaleda Zias government in late October 2006, there were protests and strikes, during which 40 people were killed in the following month, over uncertainty about who would head the caretaker government. The caretaker government had difficulty bringing the all parties to the table. Awami League and its allies protested and alleged that the caretaker
Posted on: Mon, 10 Nov 2014 06:18:21 +0000
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