Prime Minister of Bangladesh

Sheikh Hasina

Hon'ble Prime Minister of the People's Republic of Bangladesh

 Sheikh Hasina, the Prime Minister of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, assumed the office on 12 January 2014 for the third time after her party Awami League-led grand alliance won the January 5 Parliamentary elections.

 She assumed the office of the Prime Minister for the first time on 23 June 1996 when her party Bangladesh Awami League emerged as the majority party in the Parliamentary elections held on 12 June 1996. 

Bangladesh Awami League was defeated in the 2001 elections through state mechanism perpetrated by the then caretaker government and Sheikh Hasina again became the leader of the opposition. After two years’ of military-backed caretaker government’s rule, the 9th Parliamentary election was held in December 2008. Her party earned absolute majority in the widely acclaimed free and fair election and Sheikh Hasina assumed the office of the Prime Minister for the second time on 6 January 2009. 

Rahman Becomes the Third President to Die in Office

Rahman Becomes the Third President to Die in Office

Daily protests broke out in Dhaka in February 2013 after the leader of Jamaat-e-Islami, the largest Islamist party in Bangladesh, was sentenced to life in prison by a war crimes tribunal for his role in the murder of an estimated one million Bengalis during the 1971 war with Pakistan. The demonstrators, mostly students and youth, were outraged at what they consider a lenient sentence.

Investigations into Governmental Corruption Begin

Investigations into Governmental Corruption Begin

Violence erupted in Oct. 2006, when Zia's term ended and President Ahmed took over as the head of a caretaker administration. An alliance of parties, headed by the Awami League, said it would boycott the Jan. 2007 elections, alleging corruption in the electoral commission. The violence intensified in Jan. 2007, prompting President Ahmed to declare a state of emergency and postpone the elections. Fakhruddin Ahmed became the interim head of the government. He swiftly opened a broad corruption investigation that resulted in the imprisonment of dozens of prominent officials, the seizure of luxury vehicles, and the freezing of bank accounts. In March, Tarique Rahman, the son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, was arrested in the investigation and charged with extortion. Khaleda Zia herself was arrested and charged with corruption in September. In addition, Sheikh Hasina was arrested and charged with corruption and organizing the murder of four supporters of a rival party.

Independent Bangladesh

The Formation of an Independent Bangladesh

Tension between East and West Pakistan existed from the outset because of their vast geographic, economic, and cultural differences. East Pakistan's Awami League, a political party founded by the Bengali nationalist Sheik Mujibur Rahman in 1949, sought independence from West Pakistan. Although 56% of the population resided in East Pakistan, the West held the lion's share of political and economic power. In 1970, East Pakistanis secured a majority of the seats in the national assembly. President Yahya Khan postponed the opening of the national assembly in an attempt to circumvent East Pakistan's demand for greater autonomy. As a consequence, East Pakistan seceded and the independent state of Bangladesh, or Bengali nation, was proclaimed on March 26, 1971. Civil war broke out, and with the help of Indian troops in the last few weeks of the war, East Pakistan defeated West Pakistan on Dec. 16, 1971. An estimated one million Bengalis were killed in the fighting or later slaughtered. Ten million more took refuge in India. In Feb. 1974, Pakistan agreed to recognize the independent state of Bangladesh.

History Of Bangladesh

President: Abdul Hamid (2015)

Prime Minister: Sheikh Hasina (2015)

Land area: 51,703 sq mi (133,911 sq km); total area: 55,598 sq mi (144,000 sq km)

Population (2014 est.): 166,280,712 (growth rate: 1.6%); birth rate: 21.61/1000; infant mortality rate: 45.67/1000; life expectancy: 70.65

Capital and largest city (2015 est.): Dhaka, 18.391 million

Other large cities: Chittagong, 5.239 million; Khulna, 1.781 million; Rajshahi 932,000

Monetary unit: Taka

Geography

Bangladesh, on the northern coast of the Bay of Bengal, is surrounded by India, with a small common border with Myanmar in the southeast. The country is low-lying riverine land traversed by the many branches and tributaries of the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers. Tropical monsoons and frequent floods and cyclones inflict heavy damage in the delta region.

Government

Parliamentary democracy

History

What is now called Bangladesh is part of the historic region of Bengal, the northeast portion of the Indian subcontinent. Bangladesh consists primarily of East Bengal (West Bengal is part of India and its people are primarily Hindu) plus the Sylhet district of the Indian state of Assam.

President and Parliament

President and Parliament

In many countries practising a parliamentary form of government of the Westminster model, Heads of States are constituent parts of their respective Parliament. British Parliament, for example, consists of the Sovereign, the House of Lords and the House of Commons. Parliaments of India and of Pakistan are similarly constituted with the President and two Houses. There is, however, no express provision in the Bangladesh Constitution for making the President a constituent part of Parliament.  He is, however, invested with parliamentary and legislative functions similar to those enjoyed by the Heads of States in the above-mentioned countries. Some of the parliamentary and legislative powers and functions of the President are mentioned below:

a.  Parliament is summoned, prorogued and dissolved by the President in accordance with the advice of the Prime Minister tendered to him in writing.

b. The President may address Parliament and send messages. There is also a mandatory provision in the Constitution that the President shall address Parliament at the commencement of the first session after a general election and also at the commencement of the first session each year. His address is discussed in the House through a motion of thanks.

c.  A Bill passed in Jatiyo Shangshad becomes an Act of Parliament only after President has assented, or is deemed to have assented, to it.