Tarique Rahman was sworn in as Prime Minister of Bangladesh on Tuesday, February 17. The swearing-in came days after his Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) party scored a landslide victory in last week’s parliamentary election, the first since a massive anti-government uprising in 2024 that saw former prime minister Sheikh Hasina flee to India.
The vote was seen as key to Bangladesh’s future political scene after years of intense rivalry and contested polls.
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s tenure will last for another five years. The interim government has so far been led by chief adviser Muhammad Yunus, who resigned yesterday before taking the oath.
Tarique Rahman is the son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and former President Ziaur Rahman. He is also the first Prime Minister of Bangladesh in 35 years.
The country’s leader, President Mohammed Shahabuddin, administered the oath of office to Rahman. Dozens of cabinet members and members of the new government also took the oath.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its partners won 212 seats in the 350-member parliament, while an 11-party alliance led by Jamaat-e-Islami, the country’s largest Islamist party, won 77 seats in opposition.
The Awami League, led by ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, was barred from contesting the 13th parliamentary elections held on 12 February. Also read | Who is Tarique Rahman, the next prime minister of Bangladesh? Does BNP’s victory signal renewed ties with India?
Against tradition, Tarique Rahman’s swearing-in ceremony took place in the open air at the South Square of Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban, the national parliament building, instead of Bangabhababan, the official residence of the President, where such events are usually held.
BNP was founded by Tarique Rahman’s father, Ziaur Rahman. After his assassination in 1981, the party was led by Khaleda Zia for almost 40 years. He was arrested along with his mother and brother only to be released on 16 December 1971 when Bangladesh gained independence from Pakistan.
In 2018, Khaleda Zia was jailed by Shekh Hasina’s government on charges of graft. It was then that Tarique Rahman was nominated as the acting president of the party.
After 17 years of his own exile, Tarique Rahman returned to Bangladesh, where he received a huge welcome. But a few days after his return, Rahman was struck by personal tragedy when Khaleda died after a long illness.
Rahman became the BNP chairman in his mother’s absence when the party was in a state of political wilderness ahead of the polls.