Sheikh Hasina

Sheikh Hasina, born on September twenty-eighth, nineteen forty-seven, is a prominent Bangladeshi politician and writer, renowned for her extensive tenure as Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She first held the office from nineteen ninety-six to two thousand one and returned for a second term from two thousand nine until two thousand twenty-four. As the daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the first president of Bangladesh, Hasina has become the longest-serving prime minister in the country's history and one of the longest-serving female heads of government worldwide.

Her political journey began in earnest after the tragic assassination of her father in nineteen seventy-five, which propelled her into a life of political activism. After years in exile, she returned to Bangladesh in nineteen eighty-one, taking the helm of the Awami League and opposing military rule. Alongside her political rival Khaleda Zia, she played a pivotal role in the mass uprising of nineteen ninety that restored parliamentary democracy. Following her tenure as Leader of the Opposition from nineteen ninety-one to nineteen ninety-six, she won the general election in June nineteen ninety-six, marking the start of her first premiership.

During her second term, which began after the two thousand eight general election, Hasina's government was characterized by significant economic growth and infrastructural advancements. However, her administration faced increasing scrutiny over issues such as democratic backsliding, human rights violations, and allegations of corruption. Observers noted electoral irregularities in the general elections of two thousand fourteen, two thousand eighteen, and two thousand twenty-four, raising concerns about the integrity of the electoral process.

The political landscape shifted dramatically in July two thousand twenty-four when security forces, under the Awami League's direction, violently suppressed a student-led quota reform movement, resulting in numerous fatalities. This unrest culminated in an uprising that forced Hasina to resign and seek exile in India, effectively ending her fifteen-year rule. In November two thousand twenty-five, she was convicted in absentia by the Bangladeshi International Crimes Tribunal on charges of crimes against humanity, including the use of lethal force against protesters, a verdict she denounced as politically motivated.

Sheikh Hasina's influence has been recognized globally, as evidenced by her inclusion in Time magazine's list of the one hundred most influential people in the world in two thousand eighteen and her repeated recognition by Forbes as one of the one hundred most powerful women from two thousand fifteen to two thousand twenty-two.