PM Tarique Rahman on Time Magazine's 100 most influential figures

Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has been included in the 2026 list of the world's 100 most influential people by the renowned American Time Magazine. The list for 2026 was published, where his name has been included in the 'Leaders' category on Wednesday. The foreword about him was written by Charlie Campbell, editor of Time's Singapore bureau and geopolitics expert.

Time magazine has highlighted Tarique Rahman's long political struggle and his visionary plan to reform the state after returning home after exile. After forming the government with huge public support in the last February election, ensuring administrative transparency in less than two months and public welfare initiatives like the 'Farmers Card' have been praised in the international community.

The foreword says that just a few months ago, Tarique Rahman was living in exile in the south-west of London. When autocratic Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted in 2024, the 57-year-old politician went from opposition activist to national leader, and he turned that outcome into a reality with a landslide victory after 17 years of isolation from his homeland.
With the victory, Tarique Rahman followed in the footsteps of his mother, Khaleda Zia, Bangladesh’s first female prime minister. Khaleda Zia died just five days after returning to Dhaka. In an interview with TIME in January, a grieving Tarique Rahman promised to unite the country of 170 million people and get South Asia’s second-largest economy moving again to address a range of crises, including high inflation, youth unemployment and ailing relations with India.

The report also noted that corruption allegations from the 2000s — although later dismissed by the courts — could cut short his potential “honeymoon period.” But he is reluctant to waste any more time after a long absence. Tarique Rahman said, "We have to work together, unite, so that people get their political rights back."

The list also includes Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Pope Leo XIV, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Donald Trump, Xi Jinping, Indian actor Ranbir Kapoor, actress Dakota Johnson and Iranian film director Zafar Panahi.