Just two months after returning home from 17 years in exile in London, BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman on Tuesday assumed office as the 11th Prime Minister of Bangladesh following his party’s resounding victory in the national election.
President Mohammed Shahabuddin administered the oath at the South Plaza of the Jatiya Sangsad.
Tarique’s wife Dr Zubaida Rahman, their daughter Barrister Zaima Rahman and Syeda Shameela Rahman, the wife of his late younger brother Arafat Rahman Koko, were present when he was sworn in as Prime Minister.
Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus, Advisers, the chiefs of the three services, foreign dignitaries and leaders of different political parties were present.
Earlier, the BNP Parliamentary Party (BPP) unanimously elected party Chairman Tarique Rahman as the Leader of the House after they took over as the members of the 13th parliament.
Tarique Rahman will now lead Bangladesh as the head of the government just as his parents did earlier.
His father Ziaur Rahman was army chief and later president of the county who founded the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) in 1978, while his mother Khaleda Zia served as Prime Minister for about 10 years across three terms and led the party for more than four decades.
Although many expected BNP to win the 13th parliamentary election and Tarique become Prime Minister, the scenario seemed distant before August 5, 2024.
During the army-backed caretaker government, he was arrested on corruption charges and jailed. After securing bail in 2008, he left the country for medical treatment and began life in exile in London.
BNP leaders and activists faced police action and arrests, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, party offices were shut and Khaleda Zia was also imprisoned in corruption cases.
During his years of exile in London, Tarique Rahman had to watch everything unfold from afar. For this reason, Thursday’s national election marked a momentous turning point for him and a dramatic political transformation in Bangladesh.
He returned home on December 25 last year to a massive reception from supporters but lost his mother five days later. On January 9, he formally assumed leadership of the party and then led it through the election campaign to victory.
At a rally after returning home, echoing the famous ‘I have a dream’ line of Martin Luther King Jr., he declared: ‘I have a plan’, which became the central message of his campaign as he toured large parts of the country reorganising grassroots activists.
He also targeted former ally Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami by highlighting its 1971 role and policies, seeking to attract undecided voters, a strategy analysts say partly worked as BNP secured a two-thirds majority and returned to power after nearly two decades.
Early life and rise in politics
Tarique was born on November 20, 1968, in Gabtoli, Bogura.
After the assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman along with most of his family on August 15, 1975, a series of events led to Major General Ziaur Rahman becoming the army chief. On November 29, 1976, he assumed the position of Chief Martial Law Administrator.
Later, on April 21, 1977, he became the country’s president. While serving as Chief Martial Law Administrator and army chief, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) was formed in 1978 under Ziaur Rahman’s patronage from behind the scenes.
Ziaur Rahman remained in state power until he was killed in a military coup on May 30, 1981. Within a year of his death, his wife Khaleda Zia entered politics and was made the party’s vice chairperson.
At that time, the BNP chairman was the then president, Justice Abdus Sattar. When army chief HM Ershad seized power in 1982 by ousting the BNP, Khaleda took charge of the party as acting chairperson amid Sattar’s illness.
She was later elected BNP chairperson unopposed in 1984 and remained in the position until her death.
Tarique studied at BAF Shaheen School, Dhaka Residential Model College and later enrolled in the International Relations department at the University of Dhaka before leaving studies for business.
According to information on the BNP’s website, Tarique Rahman formally entered politics in 1988 by taking primary membership of the party in Gabtali, Bogura.
During the movement against the autocratic rule of HM Ershad, he joined street protests alongside his mother. He also took part in campaign tours across various districts with her during the 1991 election.
Ahead of the 2001 election, Tarique Rahman established an office in Dhaka to conduct research on local-level problems and governance.
That year, the BNP-led four-party alliance formed the government for the third time. Although Tarique did not hold any official government position, he became increasingly influential within the party.
In 2002, the party’s standing committee nominated Tarique as the BNP’s Senior Joint Secretary General.
In 2007 he was arrested during the state of emergency and faced multiple cases, with allegations of custodial torture emerging at the time. After about 18 months in detention he obtained bail and left for London with his family.
In 2009, he was elected BNP Senior Vice Chairman. Following Khaleda Zia’s imprisonment in 2018 he became acting chairman and ran the party from London via video and virtual communication for years.
Later, court verdicts cleared cases against both Khaleda Zia and Tarique Rahman, enabling his return to Bangladesh in December 2025, where he was greeted by hundreds of thousands of supporters.
On January 9 this year, Tarique formally assumed the position of Chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) in line with the party constitution following the demise of his mother Khaleda Zia.
Finally, on December 25, 2025, he returned home and attended a reception in the presence of several hundred thousand supporters, creating new enthusiasm within the BNP.
The images of Tarique waving to crowds lining the streets from inside a bus were also featured in international media.
On December 30, his mother and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia died. The next day, after funeral prayers attended by hundreds of thousands in front of the parliament building, she was buried beside her husband Ziaur Rahman at Zia Udyan.
Presenting himself as a statesman
Since returning to the country, Tarique Rahman has sought to present himself as a statesman ready to look forward, leaving behind the repression of the Awami League era.
In an interview with Reuters, he said, “What is gained through revenge? Revenge forces people to flee the country. Nothing good comes of it. What we need for the country now is peace and stability.”
During the election campaign, he held separate dialogues with young people. Alongside listening to them, he explained that his “plan” is to build an inclusive and democratic state founded on peace, unity, tolerance, and accountable politics.
His campaign slogan was ‘Bangladesh First’. Throughout much of the campaign, he was seen wearing a white shirt, sometimes paired with jeans and sneakers. This distinctive choice of attire drew discussion on social media.
At several rallies, the red cap bearing the party’s campaign slogan on his head reminded observers of Donald Trump’s election campaign in the United States.
Tarique Rahman has also managed to move considerably beyond the image associated with the BNP government of two decades ago.
At the manifesto announcement event on February 6, he said that if given the opportunity to govern, the BNP’s priorities would be curbing corruption and maintaining law and order.
He pledged, “The BNP will make no compromise with corruption. To rein in corruption that has spread like a malignant wound across society, we will ensure transparency and accountability alongside systemic and legal reforms.”
After winning the election, speaking to the media for the first time on Saturday, he said, “My message is clear — peace and discipline must be maintained at any cost. We will not tolerate any wrongdoing or illegal activities. Regardless of party, opinion, religion, or identity, we will never accept the strong attacking the weak under any pretext.”
Stressing that justice would be the guiding principle of governance, he said, “If the rule of law cannot be established, all our efforts may fail. In establishing the rule of law, the law will be equal for every Bangladeshi citizen—whether from the ruling party or the opposition, or of differing views.
“The law will be applied in accordance with established rules. In the course of electoral competition, misunderstandings may have arisen in places between individuals or parties.
“However, I sincerely urge everyone to remain vigilant so that such disputes do not turn into revenge or retaliation.”
The BNP chief added, “Just as we played our role in the struggle to establish democracy, let us now, from our respective positions, contribute to building Bangladesh into a safe and humane nation through controlling corruption, ensuring law and order, and maintaining accountability to the people.
After winning the election, he also met the chiefs of three opposition parties--including Jamaat-e-Islami, NCP and Islami Andolon Bangladesh—sending out a message of positive politics.
During the meetings, he also sought cooperation from the opposition parties in governing the country.
The 13th parliamentary election was held on February 12.
Out of 300 seats in the 13th Jatiya Sangsad, results of two seats have been suspended, while election in one seat was cancelled following the death of a candidate.
Of the remaining 297 seats, BNP won 209, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami 68, Jatiya Nagorik Party (NCP) 6, Bangladesh Khelafat Majlish 2, while Islami Andolan Bangladesh, Gano Odhikar Parishad, Bangladesh Jatiya Party (BJP), Ganosamhati Andolon and Khelafat Majlish secured one seat each. Independent candidates won seven seats.