Sheikh Hasina

Sheikh Hasina Wazed (Bengali: শেখ হাসিনা ওয়াজেদ; born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician serving as the 10th Prime Minister of Bangladesh, having held the office since January 2009. She is the longest serving prime minister in the history of Bangladesh. ​​​​

She is the daughter of Bangladesh's first President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Her political career has spanned more than four decades. She previously served as opposition leader from 1986 to 1990 and from 1991 to 1995, as Prime Minister from 1996 to 2001, and has been leading the Bangladesh Awami League since 1981. In 2008, she returned as Prime Minister with a landslide victory. In January 2014, she became Prime minister for a third term in an unopposed election, in an election boycotted by the opposition and criticised by international observers. She won a fourth term in December 2018, following an election marred with violence and criticised by the opposition as being rigged.

Hasina is considered one of the most powerful women in the world, ranking 26th on Forbes' list of The World's 100 Most Powerful Women in 2018 and 30th in 2017. Sheikh Hasina has also made her room in the list of top 100 Global Thinkers of the present decade as the famous US-based Foreign Policy journal came up with a register of worldwide thinkers. She is a member of the Council of Women World Leaders, an International network of current and former women presidents and prime ministers.

Her tenure as Prime Minister has been marred by several scandals and criticised for authoritarian practices. Scandals under her time include: Padma Bridge Scandal, Hallmark-Sonali Bank Scam, Share market Scandal, Rana Plaza collapse, and Bangladesh road safety protests 2018. She has also been praised for economic growth under her tenure.

Early life

Sheikh Hasina was born in Tungipara, East Pakistan on 28 September 1947. Her father was Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the first president of Bangladesh, and mother was Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib.[10] As she said in many interviews that she had grown up in fear due to her father's political works. She married M. A. Wazed Miah in 1968, who was chosen for her by her father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. During the peak of violence of the 1970 Elections in Pakistan as well as her father's arrest she had lived in refuge with her grandmother. She was active in the student politics of Eden Girl's College, Dhaka

Hasina was not in Bangladesh when her father and most of her family were assassinated on 15 August 1975. She was in West Germany where her husband, M. A. Wazed Miah, was working as a Nuclear physicist. She moved to Delhi in the late 1975 and was provided asylum by India. Her son, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, studied at boarding schools India. During her time in India she was not involved in politics. She became close friends with Subhra Mukherjee, wife of future Indian President, Pranab Mukherjee.

She was not allowed to return to the country until after she was elected to lead the Awami League Party in 16 February 1981 and arrived on 17 May 1981. She is the aunt of British MP Tulip Siddiq.

Early Political Career
Movement against General Ershad's presidency

While living in self-exile in India after her father and family's assassination in 1975 (only she and a sister survived as they were in West Germany), Hasina was elected President of the Bangladesh Awami League in 1981. The Awami League has been described as a "left-of-center" party.

Hasina was in and out of detention throughout the 1980s. In 1984, Hasina was put under house arrest in February and again in November. In March 1985, she was put under house arrest for three months. Her party, along with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, led by Ziaur Rahman's widow Khaleda Zia, continued to work to restore democratically elected government, which they achieved by the democratic election in 1991, won by the BNP.

Leader of the opposition, 1986–87

Hasina and the Awami League participated in the 1986 parliamentary elections held under President Hussain Mohammad Ershad. She served as the leader of the opposition in 1986–1987. She led an Eight party alliance as an opposition against Ershad. Hasina's decision to take part in the election had been criticised by her opponents, since the election was held under the martial law, and the other main opposition group, led by Khaleda Zia, boycotted the poll. However, her supporters maintained that she used the platform effectively to challenge Ershad's rule. Ershad dissolved the parliament in December 1987 when Hasina and her Awami League resigned from the parliament in an attempt to call for a fresh general election to be held under a neutral government. During November and December in 1987, mass uprising happened in Dhaka, several people were killed including Noor Hossain, a Hasina supporter.

1991 election

After several years of autocratic rule, widespread protests and strikes created had paralysed the economy. Government officers refused to follow orders and resigned. Members of Bangladesh Rifles laid down their rifles instead of firing on protestors and curfew was violated openly. Hasina worked with Khaleda Zia in organizing opposition to Ershad. A huge mass protest in December 1990 ousted General Ershad from the power, who resigned in favour of his Vice President Justice Shahabuddin. The caretaker government, headed by Shahabuddin Ahmed, the Chief Justice of the Bangladesh Supreme Court, administered a general election for the parliament. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party led by Khaleda Zia won a general majority, and Hasina's Awami League emerged as the largest opposition party. Among 3 constituencies Hasina fought, she lost in two and won in one. Accepting election defeat, Hasina offered resignation as the party president but stayed on at the request of party leaders.

1991–1996

Politics in Bangladesh took a decisive turn in 1994, after Magura by-elections. This election was held after the death of the MP for that constituency, a member of Hasina's party. The Awami League expected to win back the seat. But the BNP candidate won through rigging and manipulation, as per the neutral observer who came to witness the election. She led the Bangladesh Awami League in boycotting the parliament from 1994.

First term as Prime Minister, 1996–2001

Hasina with US President Bill Clinton at the Prime Minister's Office in Dhaka, 2000. The Awami League, with other opposition parties, demanded that the next general elections be held under a neutral caretaker government, and that provision for caretaker governments to manage elections be incorporated in the constitution. The ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party refused to act on these demands.

Opposition parties launched an unprecedented campaign, calling strikes for weeks on end. The government accused them of destroying the economy while the opposition countered that Bangladesh Nationalist Party could solve this problem by acceding to their demands. In late 1995, the MPs of the Awami League and other parties resigned from the parliament. Parliament completed its term and a general election was held on 15 February 1996. The election was boycotted by all major parties except the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party who won all the seats in the parliament as a result. Hasina described the election as a farce.

The new parliament, composed mostly of Bangladesh Nationalist Party members, amended the constitution to create provisions for a caretaker government (CTG). The next parliamentary elections on 30 June 1996 were held under a neutral caretaker government headed by retired chief Justice Muhammad Habibur Rahman. Bangladesh Awami League won the largest number of seats, 146 seats, but fell short of the majority. Khaleda Zia leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, who won 104 seats, denounced the results and alleged vote rigging. This was contrast to what neutral observers said, that the election was free and fair.

Sheik Hasina Wazed served her first term as prime minister of Bangladesh from 1996-2001. She became the first Bangladeshi Prime Minister since its independence to complete the entire term. She signed the 30-year water sharing treaty of the Ganges with India. Her administration repealed the Indemnity Act, which protected the killers of Sheikh Muijib, her father and the first president of Bangladesh. Her government opened the telecom industry to the private sector which till then was limited to government owned companies. In 1999 the government started the New Industrial Policy (NIP) which aimed to strengthen the private industry and encourage growth.

Bangladesh joined two multilateral bodies, BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) and D-8 (D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation). The NIP allowed foreign companies to open 100 percent owned subsidiaries.

2001 election

In the 2001 election, although winning 40% of the popular vote (slightly less than the BNP's 41%), the Awami League won just 62 seats in the Parliament, while the 'Four Party Alliance' led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party won 234 seats, giving them a two-thirds majority in Parliament. Hasina herself ran in three constituencies[citation needed], and was defeated in a constituency in Rangpur, which included her husband's home town, but won in two other seats. Hasina and the Awami League rejected the results, claiming that the election was rigged with the help of the President and the caretaker government. The international community was largely satisfied with the elections, and the 'Four Party Alliance' went on to form the government.