Sheikh Hasina takes oath as Prime Minister of Bangladesh for the fifth time

In Bangladeshm Awami League President Sheikh Hasina was sworn in today evening as the Prime Minister of the country for the fourth consecutive term – the fifth overall. President Mohammed Shahabuddin administered the oath of office and secrecy to the Prime Minister and members of the new cabinet at Bangabhaban, Dhaka. Ms. Sheikh Hasina will serve as the 12th Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She is 76-year-old.

Earlier in the afternoon, president Mohammed Shahabuddin appointed 25 Ministers and 11 State Ministers as members of the new cabinet. In a surprise move, Sheikh Hasina has dropped 30 incumbent cabinet members including some heavyweights like Finance Minister Mustafa Kamal, Agriculture Minister Abdur Razzak, Foreign Minister AK abdul Momen, and Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi.

Hasina and her younger sister Sheikh Rehana survived the August 15, 1975 mayhem that saw the assassination of Sheikh Mujib along with most members of his family. They were then on vacation in Germany. From Germany, the two sisters, the only survivors of Sheikh Mujib’s family, went to India for about six years of exiled life.

Still in exile in India, Hasina was elected the president of Awami League at the age of 34. She returned home from India on May 17, 1981 and immediately launched a campaign against the rule of military ruler Ziaur Rahman for restoration of democracy.

The Awami League, led by Hasina, won the June 1996 parliamentary elections coming to power for the first time since the assassination of Bangabandhu in 1975.

In 2001 Hasina became the first leader to step down peacefully after serving a full five-year term in office and handed over power to a caretaker administration as per the constitution. Her party was defeated in the 2001 election conducted by a caretaker government.

She again led her party to an absolute win in the 2008 election overseen by a military-backed interim government. She took office for the second time in 2009. She also won the next three elections in 2014, 2018 and the latest on the 7th of January 2024.