Begum Khaleda Zia (Bengali: খালেদা জিয়া) is the former First Lady of Bangladesh (1977–1981), and then Prime Minister of Bangladesh, having served from 1991 to 1996, becoming the first woman in the country's history and second in the Muslim world (only after Ms Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan in 1988–1990) to head a democratic government as prime minister. She served again from 2001 until 2006. She is the widow of the President and former army chief Z...
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Begum Khaleda Zia (Bengali: খালেদা জিয়া) is the former First Lady of Bangladesh (1977–1981), and then Prime Minister of Bangladesh, having served from 1991 to 1996, becoming the first woman in the country's history and second in the Muslim world (only after Ms Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan in 1988–1990) to head a democratic government as prime minister. She served again from 2001 until 2006. She is the widow of the President and former army chief Ziaur Rahman, who was assassinated in 1981, and leads his old party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.
Since the country's independence in 1971, Zia has spent around ten years ruling the country (being the longest-serving Prime Minister of Bangladesh). She has been elected to five separate parliamentary constituencies in the general elections of 1991, 1996 and 2001.
Forbes magazine ranked Mrs Zia at number 29 in 2005 and number 33 in 2006 in its list of the 100 Most Powerful Women in the World.
Khaleda Zia (Putul) was born on 15 August 1944 to...
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