The Prime Minister of Bangladesh ( bn, বাংলাদেশের প্রধানমন্ত্রী, translit=Bangladesher Prodhanmontri), officially Prime Minister of the

People's Republic of Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

( bn, গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশের প্রধানমন্ত্রী, translit=Gonoprojatantri Bangladesh Shorkarer Prodhanmontri) is the

chief executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of the

government of Bangladesh The Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh ( bn, গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশ সরকার — ) is the central executive government of Bangladesh. The government was constituted by the Co ...

. The Prime Minister and the Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

, to their political party and ultimately to the electorate. The Prime Minister is ceremonially appointed by the

President of Bangladesh The president of Bangladesh ( bn, বাংলাদেশের রাষ্ট্রপতি — ) officially the President of the People's Republic of Bangladesh ( bn, গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশে ...

. The position was taken over by the military during years of 1975–78, 1982-86 and 1990-91 due to imposed

martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...

. In each of these periods, the national government leadership was in control of the military with the executive authority of the President and the Prime Minister. During the period between 1996 and 2008, The Chief Adviser of the Caretaker Government of the

exercised authority as per the constitution as the

Head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, ...

for 90 days during transition between one

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population ...

government to another. The Chief Adviser headed an Advisory Committee comprising ten Advisers. With powers roughly equivalent to those of the Prime Minister of an elected governments, his executive power was constrained with certain constitutional limitations. The system was scrapped in 2011 by 15th amendment of constitution to allow political government to conduct any General Election in future. The current prime minister,

Sheikh Hasina Sheikh Hasina Wazed (''née'' Sheikh Hasina ; ; bn, শেখ হাসিনা ওয়াজেদ, Shēkh Hasinā, , born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh since January 2 ...

, was appointed on 6 January 2009 by the

, and she is also the longest serving prime minister in the country and still is.

Appointment

According to the Constitution, the prime minister is appointed by the President based upon the result of the electorates choice in parliamentary general election held by the Election Commission. The Prime Minister will be the leader of the majority party (or coalition) in the ''Jatiya Sangsad'' and must have the confidence of the ''Jatiya Sangsad'' to govern. The cabinet is composed of ministers selected by the prime minister and appointed by the president. At least 90% of the ministers must be MPs. The other 10% may be non-MP experts or "technocrats" who are not otherwise disqualified from being elected MPs. According to the constitution, the president can dissolve Parliament upon the written request of the prime minister. The appointments of the Prime Minister and other Ministers of state and deputy Ministers, shall be made by the President: Provided that not less the nine tenths of their number shall be appointed from among members of parliament and not more than one tenth of their number may be chosen from among persons qualified for election as members of parliament.

Eligibility

Oath

The Prime Minister is appointed and sworn in by the President: Bangla " আমি, (নাম), সশ্রদ্ধচিত্তে শপথ (বা দৃঢ়ভাবে ঘোষণা) করিতেছি যে, আমি আইন-অনুযায়ী সরকারের প্রধানমন্ত্রী (কিংবা ক্ষেত্রমত মন্ত্রী, প্রতি-মন্ত্রী, বা উপমন্ত্রী)-পদের কর্তব্য বিশ্বস্ততার সহিত পালন করিব: আমি বাংলাদেশের প্রতি অকৃত্রিম বিশ্বাস ও আনুগত্য পোষণ করিব; আমি সংবিধানের রক্ষণ, সমর্থন ও নিরাপত্তাবিধান করিব; এবং আমি ভীতি বা অনুগ্রহ, অনুরাগ বা বিরাগের বশবর্তী না হইয়া সকলের প্রতি আইন-অনুযায়ী যথাবিহীত আচরণ করিব।” English In English, "I, (name) do swear with honor (or solemnly affirm) that I, according to the laws, shall faithfully discharge the functions of the office of the Prime Minister (or Minister or State Minister or Sub-minister, as the circumstances allow). I shall possess pure faith and obedience to Bangladesh. I shall preserve, support and secure the constitution and I shall deal with all with equity as suggested by laws, without being affected by fear or mercy, love or hatred."

Duties of the office

The office of the Prime Minister is located at Tejgaon in

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city i ...

city. It is considered a ministry of the government and among other duties, provides clerical, security, and other support to the prime minister, governs

intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can be des ...

affairs, NGOs, and arranges protocol and ceremonies.

Leader of the House

The Leader of the House is responsible for managing and scheduling Government business in the Jatiya Sangsad. The office is always held by Prime Minister of Bangladesh.

Minister for Cabinet Affairs

Minister of Defence

Minister of Energy

Chairperson of the Planning Commission

History and timeline

Origin

Bangladesh origins lie in

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

, a province of the

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

that included present-day

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...

. Between 1937 and 1947 it was intermittently governed by a popularly elected ministry, whose head is often designated the Premier of Bengal. In 1947, Bengal province was partitioned into the Indian state of West Bengal and

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Myanmar, wi ...

. All three erstwhile Bengal premiers— A. K. Fazlul Huq,

Khawaja Nazimuddin Sir Khawaja Nazimuddin ( bn, খাজা নাজিমুদ্দীন; ur, ; 19 July 1894 – 22 October 1964) was a Pakistani politician and one of the leading founding fathers of Pakistan. He is noted as being the first Bengali to ha ...

and H. S. Suhrawardy—became Pakistani citizens; the latter two went on to become Prime Ministers of Pakistan in the 1950s. East Pakistan's history from 1947 to 1971 was marked by political instability and economic difficulties. The nascent democratic institutions foundered in the face of military intervention in 1958, and the government imposed martial law between 1958 and 1962, and again between 1969 and 1971. Between 1947 and 1971 it was intermittently governed by Governors and Chief Minister of East Pakistan. The modern office of Prime Minister was established following the

declaration of independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of th ...

with the Provisional Government of Bangladesh on 17 April 1971, of which Tajuddin Ahmad became the first Prime Minister of Bangladesh. Since the adoption of the current

Constitution of Bangladesh The Constitution of Bangladesh ( bn, বাংলাদেশের সংবিধান — ), officially the Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh ( bn, গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশের ...

in 1972 the formal title of the office is The Prime Minister of the People's Republic of Bangladesh.

Military coups and presidential regimes (1975-1991)

From 1975 to 1991, the Prime Minister was appointed by the President while the President had executive power.

Return of parliamentary government

In September 1991, the electorate approved changes to the constitution, formally creating a parliamentary system and returning governing power to the office of the prime minister, as in Bangladesh's original constitution. In October 1991, members of parliament elected a new head of state, President Abdur Rahman Biswas.

Hasina-Khaleda rivalry (1991-present)

For more than three decades, Bangladeshi politics have been dominated by

Khaleda Zia Khaleda Zia (; born Khaleda Khanam Putul in 1945) is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh from March 1991 to March 1996, and again from June 2001 to October 2006. She was the first female prime minister of Ba ...

and

. They have been the only people to serve as non-interim Prime Minister since 1991.

Khaleda Zia (BNP) (1991-1996, 2001-2006)

Khaleda Zia served as Prime Minister of Bangladesh twice from 1991 to 1996 and from 2001 to 2006. Once in power, Khaleda Zia's government made substantial changes in education policy, introducing free education for girls up to the 10th grade, a stipend for female students, and food for education programme funds. It also made highest budgetary allocation in the education sector. She became Prime Minister for the second consecutive term after the BNP had a landslide victory on 15 February 1996 general election to the sixth Jatiya Sangsad which is widely believed to be rigged voting after bribeing the election commissioner. The election was, however, boycotted by all other major parties who were demanding that the elections be held under a neutral caretaker government, following allegations of rigging in a by-election held in 1994. Turnout was estimated at around 5%, though the government at the time claimed it to be much higher. On 12 June 1996 polls, BNP lost to Hasina's Awami League but emerged as the largest opposition party in the country's parliamentary history with 116 seats. Aiming to return to power, the BNP formed a four-party alliance on 6 January 1999 with its former political opinion Jatiya Party, and the Islamic party of

Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami ( bn, বাংলাদেশ জামায়াতে ইসলামী, Bānglādēsh Jāmāyatē Islāmī, Bangladesh Islamic Assembly), previously known as Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh, or Jamaat for short, was ...

and the Islami Oikya Jot and launched several agitation programmes against the ruling Awami League. In the 2001 general elections BNP won the election with a two-thirds majority of seats in parliament and 46% of the vote (compared to the principal opposition party's 40%) and Khaleda Zia was once again sworn in as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh. In 2008 election, they faced a landslide defeat. Khaleda led four-party alliance won only 32 seats and emerged as the smallest opposition party in the country's parliamentary history. They won only 32% of the total vote where their main rival Awami League won more than 50% of the total vote. In the Tenth Jatiyo Sangsad election of 2014, the BNP along with its 18 party alliance boycotted and violently protested the election to no avail.

Sheikh Hasina (1996-2001, 2009-present)

Sheika Hasina lost to Khaleda Zia in 1991 parliamentary election after managing to win 88 seats and her party sat in opposition benches. She boycotted the 1996 February 15 elections giving Khaleda Zia a default victory. Awami League won 146 seats in the 1996 June 12 parliamentary elections. The support of the Jatiya Party and a few independent candidates were enough for the 150 or more seats needed for the required majority. Hasina took the oath as the prime minister of

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

. She vowed to create a ''Government of National Unity''. Though some smaller parties and a few individuals from BNP did join the government, the distance between the main two political parties as well as their leaders remained as large as ever. Awami League was defeated in the 2001 Parliament election. It won only 62 seats in the Parliament, while the Four-Party Alliance led by the

Bangladesh Nationalist Party The Bangladesh Nationalist Party ( bn, বাংলাদেশ জাতীয়তাবাদী দল, Bangladesh Jātīyotābādī Dol; BNP) is a centre-right to right-wing nationalist, political party in Bangladesh and one of the major ...

won more than 200 seats, giving them a two-thirds majority in the Parliament. Hasina herself was defeated from a constituency in Rangpur, which happened to contain her husband's hometown, but won from three other seats.

and the Awami League rejected the results, claiming that the election was rigged with the help of the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

and the Caretaker government. However, the international community was largely satisfied with the elections and the Four-Party Alliance went on to form the government. In the December 2008 election,

led Awami league got a landslide victory winning 230 seats, which gave them the

two-thirds majority 2/3 may refer to: * A fraction with decimal value 0.6666... * A way to write the expression "2 ÷ 3" ("two divided by three") * 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines of the United States Marine Corps * February 3 * March 2 Events Pre-1600 * 537 – ...

in the parliament. She made an alliance with JP and left fronts and her grand alliance won 252 seats in the parliament.

took oath as Prime Minister on 6 January 2009. She is still the prime minister of Bangladesh after winning a walkover 5 January 2014 election when Khaleda Zia's BNP boycotted the general election.

secured a fourth term as prime minister after winning the 2018 general election. Hasina have become the longest served Prime Minister of Bangladesh since

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

2007 political crisis and caretaker government

The scheduled 22 January 2007 elections were marred by controversy. The Awami League and its allies protested, saying that the elections would not be fair because of alleged bias by the caretaker government in favour of Khaleda Zia and the BNP. Hasina demanded that the head of the caretaker government, President

Iajuddin Ahmed Iajuddin Ahmed (1 February 193110 December 2012) was the President of Bangladesh, serving from 6 September 2002 until 12 February 2009. From late October 2006 to January 2007, he also served as Chief Advisor of the caretaker government. From Oc ...

, step down from that position, and on 3 January 2007, she announced that the Awami League and its allies would boycott the elections. Later in the month, the military led by Army Chief General Moinuddin Ahmed intervened and President

was asked to resign as the Chief Advisor. He was also made to declare a state of emergency. A new military-controlled Caretaker government was formed with Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed as the Chief Adviser. The scheduled parliamentary election was postponed. On 12 January 2007, President Iajuddin Ahmed swore in Fakhruddin Ahmed as the Chief Adviser to the Interim Caretaker Government. For a country widely perceived as one of the world's most corrupt, the most dramatic aspect of Fakhruddin Ahmed's rule is his antigraft campaign against the establishment. So far, more than 160 senior politicians, top civil servants and security officials have been arrested on suspicion of graft and other economic crimes. The roundup has netted former ministers from the two main political parties, including former prime ministers

and

and former adviser Fazlul Haque. On May 11, 2017, the Office of Bangladesh Prime Minister Hasina Wazed announced that then US Secretary of State

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

called her office in March 2011 to demand that Dr. Muhammed Yunus, a 2006

Nobel Peace prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiolog ...

winner, be restored to his role as chairman of microcredit bank, Grameen Bank. The bank's nonprofit Grameen America, which Yunus chairs, has given between $100,000 and $250,000 to the

Clinton Global Initiative The Clinton Foundation (founded in 2001 as the William J. Clinton Presidential Foundation, and renamed in 2013 as the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation) is a nonprofit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. tax code. It was es ...

. Grameen Research, which is chaired by Yunus, has donated between $25,000 and $50,000, according to the Clinton Foundation website.

Salary and allowance

According to The Prime Minister's (Remuneration and Privilege) (Amendment) Bill, 2016, the salary of the Prime Minister of Bangladesh is one lakh 15 thousand Taka per month. Besides, he gets a monthly house rent of one lakh Taka and a daily allowance of three thousand Taka.

List of prime ministers

File:Khaleda Zia former Prime Minister of Bangladesh cropped.jpg, File:Fakhruddin Ahmed - WEF Annual Meeting Davos 2008.jpg, File:No-image.svg,

References

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