Tarique Rahman sworn in as prime minister

BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman has been sworn in as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh.

President Md. Shahabuddin administered the oath to him at the South Plaza of the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban on Tuesday, February 17 afternoon.

Cabinet Secretary Nasimul Gani conducted the oath-taking ceremony.

Earlier, the newly elected members of parliament of the BNP took the oath at the oath-taking room of the Jatiya Sangsad Secretariat around 10:45 am. Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin administered the oath to them.

Less than ⁠two months after returning from 17 years of self-imposed exile in London, Tarique Rahman has won one of Bangladesh’s most pivotal elections and is set to become prime minister, leading the country as his parents once did.

A coalition led by his Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) won a decisive two-thirds majority in the parliamentary election, according to the results published in the official gazette of the Bangladesh Election Commission.

The 60-year-old Tarique Rehman is the figurehead of the influential Zia family in Bangladesh. His parents, Ziaur Rahman and Khalida Zia, previously served as leaders of Bangladesh. Khalida Zia was Bangladesh’s first female prime minister, having led the country three times. His father late President Ziaur Rahman. Ziaur Rahman served as the sixth president of Bangladesh from 1977 until his assassination in 1981.

Tarique Rahman first became active within the BNP in 2001, when he was in his mid-30s. In 2002, Tarique Rahman made his first major move into frontline politics when he was elevated to a senior position in the party founded by his parents.

Tarique Rahman was arrested in 2007 during an anti-corruption campaign launched by a military-backed caretaker government, facing charges he has consistently denied. In 2008, he was allowed to travel to London for medical treatment, reportedly after suffering severe mistreatment in jail that left him needing a wheelchair to board the plane. Tarique Rahman left Bangladesh in 2008.

Despite spending years abroad, he remained actively involved in shaping the BNP’s strategy and policies, serving as the party’s acting chairman after his mother was jailed in 2018.

When Sheikh Hasina was in power in Bangladesh, Tarique Rahman remained in London. He lived in the suburb of Kingston in London with his wife and daughter. In 2024, following Hasina’s fall from power, the courts overturned those convictions, clearing the way for his return home. He finally returned to Bangladesh on December 25, 2025, and five days later, his mother died and was made party chairman on January 9, 2026.