The Sayem ministry led what eventually became the first

interim government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, a transitional government or provisional leadership, is a temporary government formed to manage a period of transition, often following state collapse, revolut ...

in independent

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

and an unofficial model for future interim governments. It was formed on 8 November 1975, following the

assassination Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

of Brig. Gen.

Khaled Mosharraf Khaled Mosharraf (; 9 November 1937 – 7 November 1975) was a two star officer in Bangladesh Army, who is known for his role in the Bangladesh Liberation War and the subsequent coups in post-independence Bangladesh. After deposing Khondakar ...

on 7 November amid a nationwide soldier and public uprising against his 3 November coup d'état. After a three-day coup with support of some high-ranking officers and his Dhaka Brigade, Mosharraf had forced

Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad (; 27 February 1919 – 5 March 1996) was a Bangladeshi politician. He was the Minister of Commerce in the third Mujib Rahman ministry under Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and assumed the presidency of Bangladesh after the A ...

, who, following the 15 August coup that

assassinated Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

the founding president

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (17 March 1920 – 15 August 1975), also known by the honorific Bangabandhu, was a Bangladeshi politician, revolutionary, statesman and activist who was the founding president of Bangladesh. As the leader of Bangl ...

, replaced him as

President of Bangladesh President of Bangladesh (POB), officially the President of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is the head of state of Bangladesh and commander-in-chief of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. The role of the president has changed three times since ...

with support of the mid-ranking assassin officers, to resign. Chief Justice Sayem, with the constitutional requirement for the direct election of the president and role of the vice-president as

acting president An acting president is a person who temporarily fills the role of a country's president when the incumbent president is unavailable (such as by illness or visiting abroad) or when the post is vacant (such as for death Death is the en ...

suspended by Mostaq under a martial law proclamation, had been installed in his place. With Mosharraf's death, the responsibility of CMLA (

Chief Martial Law Administrator The office of the chief martial law administrator (CMLA) was a senior and authoritative post created in countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia that gave considerable executive authority and powers to the holder of the post to enforc ...

) fell on Sayem. Following the first-ever dissolution of the

Jatiya Sangsad The Jatiya Sangsad (), often simply referred to as Sangsad and also known as is the unicameral Legislature, legislative body of Bangladesh. The current parliament of Bangladesh contains 350 seats, including 50 seats reserved exclusively for w ...

on 7 November, the cabinet was initially set up as a

military junta A military junta () is a system of government led by a committee of military leaders. The term ''Junta (governing body), junta'' means "meeting" or "committee" and originated in the Junta (Peninsular War), national and local junta organized by t ...

with the recently promoted armed forces chiefs, notably the chief of army staff

Ziaur Rahman Ziaur Rahman (19 January 193630 May 1981) was a Bangladeshi military officer and politician who served as the sixth president of Bangladesh from 1977 until Assassination of Ziaur Rahman, his assassination in 1981. One of the leading figures of t ...

, who had been usurped and put under house arrest by Mosharraf during the coup, as the CMLA's deputies. At

Bangabhaban The Bangabhaban () is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of Bangladesh, located on Bangabhaban Road, and short road connecting Dilkusha, Dhaka, Dilkusha Avenue, Dhaka. It is surrounded by the Bangabhaban Gardens (fo ...

on 26 November 1975, the president administered oath to a newly formed council of advisers '' de facto'' headed by the junta. He promised a general election in February 1977 in a presidential speech addressed to the nation, but in November 1976, with the country in a dire situation with no stability and security, indefinitely postponed it and relinquished his CMLA duty with Zia nominated to succeed. 5 months later on 21 April 1977, when Sayem retired on health grounds, in the absence of a

vice-president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

in office, Zia decided to act as president. Forty days later, he organised a nationwide presidential confidence referendum to legitimise his presidency. In June, the President's special assistant

Abdus Sattar ʻAbd al-Sattār (ALA-LC romanization of ) is an Arabic Muslim male given name, built on the Arabic words '' ʻabd'' and ''al-Sattār''. The name means "servant of the Veiler (of sins)". Because the letter s is a sun letter, the letter l of the '' ...

was promoted to the office of

and on 9 December, the council of advisers was reorganised with three dismissals and seven new appointments. After coming to power, Zia immediately moved to restore law and order in the country by strengthening the police force, practically doubling its size and arranging for their proper training, as well as order in the armed forces and withdrew the ban on the newspapers inaugurating the free flow of news by making the information media free and without government interference. An ordinance allowing political parties to engage in open politics was promulgated reversing the ban imposed on them by Mujibur Rahman months prior to his assassination. Zia organised his own party in February 1978 called the '' Jatiyotabadi Gonotantrik Dol'' ("Nationalist Democratic Party"), or JaGoDol for short, and in the

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The p ...

– the first

direct election Direct election is a system of choosing political officeholders in which the voters directly cast ballots for the persons or political party that they want to see elected. The method by which the winner or winners of a direct election are chosen ...

– that year, his candidacy was supported by his and five other parties of the nationalist "''Jatiyatabadi'' Front".M. A. Singammal (1979)
1978 presidential election in Bangla Desh
, ''The Indian Journal of Political Science'', volume 40, number 1, pp97–110 He achieved a landslide victory against his wartime superior, retired commander-in-chief

MAG Osmani Muhammad Ataul Gani Osmani (1 September 1918 – 16 February 1984) was a Bangladeshi military officer, revolutionary and politician. His military career spanned three decades, beginning with his service in the British Indian Army in 1939. ...

, whose candidacy was supported by the then- dominant

Awami League The Awami League, officially known as Bangladesh Awami League, is a major List of political parties in Bangladesh, political party in Bangladesh. The oldest existing political party in the country, the party played the leading role in achievin ...

and five other parties of the socialist "''Ganatantrik Oikkya Jote'' ("Alliance of Democratic Unity")". The cabinet was dissolved on 29 June 1978, once Zia formed his provisional

Council of Ministers Council of Ministers is a traditional name given to the supreme Executive (government), executive organ in some governments. It is usually equivalent to the term Cabinet (government), cabinet. The term Council of State is a similar name that also m ...

before the pending general election scheduled to be held next year.

Background

15 August 1975 coup d'état

3 November counter coup

7 November revolution

Members

The following lists the president(s), the vice-president(s) and the special assistant(s) to the president:

List of advisers

The following lists the advisers of the interim government:

Notes

References

{{Ministries of Bangladesh 1975 establishments in Bangladesh Cabinets of Bangladesh Cabinets established in 1975 Provisional governments