Khaleda Zia
Bangladeshi Politician
About Khaleda
Khaleda Zia was born in 1945. She was a Bangladeshi politician who served as prime minister from 1991 to 1996. She was the first woman to hold office in Bangladesh. When President Ziaur Rahman was assassinated in 1981, Khaleda became politically active. In 1984 she assumed the leadership of the conservative Bangladesh Nationalist Party. In 1991 she led the party to victory and became prime minister.
Did You Know. . .
Did you know in 2011 the New Jersey State Senate honored Khaleda Zia as a "Fighter for Democracy"?
Khaleda As Prime Minister
Khaleda worked to fix some of the country’s economic troubles and also aimed to improve the educational system during her first term. Unfortunately, her efforts were restricted by a cyclone in 1991 that took over 130,000 lives and caused more than $2 million in damage. In 1996, she won a second term in office, but her victory was quickly spoiled after the main opposition boycotted the election. Khaleda resigned the following month.
In 2001, Khaleda regained her power, promising to eradicate both corruption as well as terrorism. Unfortunately, she failed to keep her promise, and stepped down at the end of 2006. Zia handed her authority over to a caretaker administration until elections rolled around. In early 2007, emergency was declared in Bangladesh. An army-backed government took power, and Zia was later arrested on corruption charges.
Works Cited
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2013. Web. 24 Apr. 2013.
<http://school.eb.com/all/comptons/article-9341094>.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khaleda_Zia
Author: Tatiana Serafin http://www.forbes.com/lists/2006/11/06women_Khaleda-Zia_JSK7.html