Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader Tarique Rahman was sworn in as Bangladesh’s prime minister on Tuesday, marking a decisive political shift in the country after his party’s sweeping parliamentary election victory.
Rahman, 60, the son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia and of the assassinated President Ziaur Rahman, takes office facing urgent challenges, including restoring political stability, rebuilding investor confidence, and reviving key industries such as the garment sector after the prolonged turmoil that followed the Gen Z-led uprising that toppled Sheikh Hasina’s government in 2024.
President Mohammed Shahabuddin officiated as Rahman and his cabinet took their oaths in the presence of senior political figures, diplomats, civil and military officials, and representatives from invited countries, including China, India and Pakistan.
Rahman’s BNP secured a commanding two-thirds majority, returning to power after nearly two decades. The Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami, contesting its first election since a 2013 ban was lifted following Hasina’s ouster, won a record 68 seats.
Hasina’s Awami League was banned from contesting after its registration was revoked by the Election Commission.
Jamaat and its allies — including the National Citizen Party, led by youth activists who played a prominent role in the movement that toppled Hasina — will form the opposition.
Rahman’s elevation caps a long and turbulent political journey. He returned to Bangladesh last year after 17 years of self-imposed exile in UK.