Former Bangladeshi PM Khaleda Zia dies of illness at age of 80

DHAKA, Dec. 31 (Xinhua) -- Former Bangladeshi Prime Minister and Chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Khaleda Zia passed away due to illness at the age of 80 in the capital Dhaka at around 6 a.m. Tuesday local time, the BNP said in a social media post.

Meanwhile, the Daily Star reported that Zia died at a hospital in Dhaka, where she had been receiving treatment. She had long suffered from multiple ailments and was hospitalized in late November 2025 after being diagnosed with heart complications and a lung infection.

Zia was first elected prime minister in February 1991, becoming the country's first female premier, and was reelected in October 2001. She was imprisoned in February 2018 after being convicted on corruption charges. In August 2024, the Bangladeshi president's office announced that Zia had been released.■