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Bangladesh

Bangladesh, 1971 to today. Draft, not yet reviewed

Bangladesh became a sovereign nation on 16 December 1971. After independence, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman led the country until his assassination in 1975; Ziaur Rahman, who later came to power, was himself assassinated in 1981. The 1980s were dominated by the dictatorship of Hussain Muhammad Ershad, who was overthrown in a mass uprising in 1990. After more than 15 years of rule, Hasina was ousted in another mass uprising in 2024.

Seat of power: Dhaka

Rulers

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

President of Bangladesh, 1971–1972

He was the founding president of Bangladesh. As the leader of Bangladesh, he led the country as its president and prime minister from 1972 until his assassination in a coup d'état in 1975.

Portrait of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman: Press Information Department, Public domain, file

Syed Nazrul Islam

Head of state, 1971–1972

During the Bangladesh War of Independence, he was declared as the Acting President of Bangladesh by the Provisional Government.

Abu Sayeed Chowdhury

President of Bangladesh, 1972–1973

He was a jurist and the second president of Bangladesh. He also held the positions of chairman of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, vice-chancellor of the University of Dhaka, Foreign Minister of Bangladesh, and the first Bangladesh High Commissioner to the UK.

Portrait of Abu Sayeed Chowdhury: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file

Mohammad Mohammadullah

President of Bangladesh, 1973–1975

Mohammadullah became the Acting President on 24 December 1973, was elected president on 24 January 1974, and took oath of office on 27 January 1974. He remained President until 25 January 1975.

Abu Sadat Mohammad Sayem

President of Bangladesh, 1975–1977

He became the president of Bangladesh in the aftermath of counter-coups in November 1975. Sayem presided over a cabinet headed by the three chiefs of the armed forces. Sayem resigned on grounds of ill health in April 1977 and was replaced by Ziaur Rahman.

Ziaur Rahman

President of Bangladesh, 1977–1981

In the aftermath of the Sipahi-Janata revolution in 1975, he consolidated power to lead Bangladesh with pragmatic policies through economic liberalisation and civic nationalism that significantly contributed to the economic recovery of the country. He also founded the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). He was the sixth president of Bangladesh from 1977 until his assassination in 1981.

Portrait of Ziaur Rahman: kbsBD, CC0, file

Hussain Muhammad Ershad

President of Bangladesh, 1983–1990

He seized power as a result of a bloodless coup against President Abdus Sattar on 24 March 1982 (by imposing martial law and suspending the Constitution). He declared himself President in 1983, and subsequently won the controversial 1986 Bangladeshi presidential election. In 1989, Ershad pushed parliament to make Islam the state religion, in a sharp departure from Bangladesh's original secular constitution.

Portrait of Hussain Muhammad Ershad: Fahim Shahriyar Rifat, CC BY-SA 4.0, file

Abdur Rahman Biswas

President of Bangladesh, 1991–1996

He was the President of Bangladesh from 1991 to 1996. He served as minister of textiles and jute under the cabinet of President Ziaur Rahman, and later as health minister under President Abdus Sattar.

Shahabuddin Ahmed

President of Bangladesh, 1996–2001

He served as the president of Bangladesh from 1996 to 2001 and as the chief justice of Bangladesh from 1990 to 1995. He previously served as the acting president during 1990-91 when Hussain Muhammad Ershad resigned from the post. He headed an interim government and oversaw a general election in February 1991.

Iajuddin Ahmed

President of Bangladesh, 2002–2009

He was the president of Bangladesh, serving from 2002 to 2009. With a doctorate in soil science, Ahmed became a full professor at the University of Dhaka and chairman of the department.

Portrait of Iajuddin Ahmed: Md. Lutfar Rahman Binu, CC BY-SA 4.0, file

Zillur Rahman

President of Bangladesh, 2009–2013

He served as President of Bangladesh from 2009 until his death in 2013. He is the third president of Bangladesh to die in office and the first to die of natural causes, as both Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Ziaur Rahman were assassinated.

Portrait of Zillur Rahman: Prime Minister's Office, GODL-India, file

Abdul Hamid

President of Bangladesh, 2013–2023

He served as president of Bangladesh from 2013 to 2023, making him the longest-serving president in the country's history. As president, he oversaw the controversial 2014 and 2018 parliamentary elections, and signed many criticised bills and decisions passed by the AL-led parliaments and the Hasina government, and controversially commuted some serious convicts from their sentences.

Portrait of Abdul Hamid: Press Information Department, Public domain, file

Mohammad Shahabuddin

President of Bangladesh, 2023–2026

He served as the president of Bangladesh from 2023 to 2026. He was elected unopposed in the 2023 presidential election as the nominee of the then-ruling Awami League. He is the first and only president of Bangladesh to administer the oath of three different governments.

Portrait of Mohammad Shahabuddin: Press Information Department, Public domain, file

Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir

President of Bangladesh, 2026 to today

He has served as the president of Bangladesh since August 2026. He was also the Bangladesh Nationalist Party's longest-serving secretary general, a post he resigned from upon accepting BNP's presidential nomination.

Portrait of Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir: Press Information Department, Public domain, file

Hafiz Uddin Ahmad

President of Bangladesh, 2026 to today

He was the acting president of Bangladesh from 24 July to 21 August 2026. On 24 July 2026, President Mohammed Shahabuddin resigned, citing ill health.

Portrait of Hafiz Uddin Ahmad: Press Information Department, Public domain, file

Culture

Picture

The Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban is the Parliament house of Bangladesh in Dhaka, initially designed for the Parliament of Pakistan by the architect Louis Kahn.

Image: Saiful Aopu & Nahid Sultan, CC BY-SA 3.0, file

Sources

Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.