Khaleda Zia Age, Controversies, Husband, Children, Family, Biography

Bio
Real Name	Khaleda Majumder
Profession	Politician
Political Party	Bangladesh Nationalist Party (1979–present)
Political Journey	1984: In August, elected chairperson of the BNP 1991: In February, won an election for the first time 1991-1996: Served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh in her First Term 1996-2001: Served as the Leader of the Opposition 2001-2006: Served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh in her Second Term 2008-2014: Served as the Leader of the Opposition for the 2nd time
Biggest Rival	Sheikh Hasina
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)	in centimeters- 170 cm in meters- 1.70 m in feet inches- 5’ 7”
Weight (approx.)	in kilograms- 60 kg in pounds- 132 lbs
Eye Colour	Dark Brown
Hair Colour	Salt & Pepper
Personal Life
Date of Birth	9 August 1945 (according to her matriculation examination certificate) 5 September 1945 (according to her marriage certificate) 19 August 1945 (according to her passport) 15 August 1945 (she claims)
Age (as in 2018)	73 Years
Birth Place	Dinajpur, Bengal Presidency, British India
Nationality	Bangladeshi
Hometown	Dinajpur, Bangladesh
School	Not Known
College	Not Known
Educational Qualification	Not Known
Family	Father- Iskandar Majumder (Businessman) Mother- Taiyaba Majumder Brother- Sayeed Iskander Sister- Khurshid Jahan
Religion	Islam
Hobbies	Travelling, Listening to Music
Controversies	• Her birthday is quite controversial; as there are different birth dates on her different documents- 9 August 1945 (according to her matriculation examination certificate), 5 September 1945 (according to her marriage certificate), 19 August 1945 (according to her passport), and 15 August 1945 (she claims). The High Court filed a petition against Khaleda Zia on this issue. • In February 2018, she was jailed for five years in a corruption case. She was convicted of embezzling some USD 250,000 in donations meant for an orphanage trust, established in her late husband Ziaur Rahman's memory. • On 29 October 2018, a special court in Dhaka sentenced her to seven years in jail involving a charity fund named after her late husband. She was found guilty of misuse of power as prime minister in collecting $375,000 for the Zia Charitable Trust Fund from unknown sources.
Boys, Affairs and More
Marital Status	Widow
Affairs/Boyfriends	Not Known
Husband/Spouse	General Ziaur Rahman (7th President of Bangladesh)
Marriage Date	Year, 1960
Children	Sons- Tarique, Arafat Daughter- Not Known
Money Factor
Net Worth	Not Known

Some Lesser Known Facts About Khaleda Zia

Does Khaleda Zia smoke?: Not Known

Does Khaleda Zia drink alcohol?: Not Known

She was born into a family of businessmen in Dinajpur District in Bengal, British India (now in north-western Bangladesh).

In 1960, she married Ziaur Rahman who went on to become the 7th President of Bangladesh in 1977.

Her husband, Ziaur Rahman ruled until 1981 when in a military coup, he was assassinated.

After her husband’s demise, Khaleda Zia became head of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, which was founded by Ziaur Rahman in 1970.

Khaleda Zia, along with her supporters, had fiercely opposed the autocratic rule of Hussain Muhammad Ershad and was detained more than 7 times because of her protests against Ershad.

Soon, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party formed a 7-party alliance.

So far, she has served Bangladesh as its Prime Minister for three times.

By serving 10 years as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Khaleda Zia is considered the longest serving Prime Minister of Bangladesh.

On 20 March 1991, Khaleda Zia was sworn in as Bangladesh’s first female prime minister. Shahabuddin Ahmed (the then acting President of Bangladesh) had granted her nearly all of the powers that were vested in the president at the time, and thus, Bangladesh effectively returned to a parliamentary system in September 1991.

In the June 1996 elections, Khaleda Zia led BNP lost Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League. However, with 116 seats, BNP emerged as the largest opposition party in Bangladesh’s parliamentary history.

On 6 January 1999, the BNP formed a four-party alliance (including Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh) to increase its chances to return to power.

Khaleda Zia was heavily criticised for allying with Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh; as it had opposed the independence of Bangladesh in 1971.

In the October 2001 general elections, the BNP won two-thirds of the seats in parliament and Khaleda Zia was sworn in as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh.

During her third term as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, country’s domestic share in economic development grew and Bangladesh started attracting international investments.

On 29 October 2006, her term in the Prime Minister’s Office ended.

In May 2017, she revealed BNP’s Vision 2030 to obtain public support for the next general elections. However, the ruling Awami League government accused BNP’s vision as an act of plagiarism. It renewed tension between Awami League and BNP.

During her Prime Ministership, Khaleda Zia had made some high-profile foreign visits including Saudi Arabia, People’s Republic of China, and India.

Khaleda Zia’s India’s visit was notable as BNP had been considered to have been anti-India compared to its rival Awami League.

On 24 May 2011, she was honoured as a “Fighter for Democracy” by the New Jersey State Senate.

In August 2024, after Sheikh Hasina, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, resigned from office and went to India, news began circulating that Khaleda would be released from prison.