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Sheikh Hasina Biography: Sheikh Hasina is the longest-serving Prime Minister of Bangladesh and is also the world’s longest-serving elected female head of the Government. Know more about her family, education, daughter, son, net worth, political career, Awards and other details.
Sheikh Hasina Biography:
Sheikh Hasina is a politician from Bangladesh and has been serving as the Prime Minister of the country since 2009. Sheikh Hasina is the daughter of the founding father and the first President of Bangladesh, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Sheikh Hasina is the longest-serving Prime Minister of Bangladesh, as she previously served in the position from 1996 to 2001. As of September 5, 2022, Sheikh Hasina became the world’s longest-serving elected female head of government.
She resigned from the post of Prime Minister of Bangladesh on 5th August, 2024, amid student protests and tense situation in Bangladesh.
Know more about Sheikh Hasina family, age, education, son, father, net worth, political career, and other details below.
| Name: | Sheikh Hasina |
| Born: | September 28, 1947 – Tungipara, East Bengal, Dominion of Pakistan |
| Political Party: | Bangladesh Awami League |
| Other Political Affiliations: | Grand Alliance (2008-Present) |
| Husband: | M.A. Wazed Miah (m. 1968; died 2009) |
| Parents: | Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (Father) :: Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib (Mother) |
| Children: | Saima Wazed Hossain, Sajeeb Ahmed Wazed |
| Education: | University of Dhaka (1973), Eden Mohila College |
| Occupation: | Politician |
| In Office: | Resigned on 5 August 2024 from the post of Prime Minister of Bangladesh Later that day she fled the country to India. Her son, Sajeeb Wazed said that she will not return to politics. |
| Organisations founded: | Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Science and Technology University and Mawlana Bhashani Science and Technology University |
Family, Early Life and Education:
Sheikh Hasina was born on September 28, 1947, to the Bengali Muslim Sheikh Family of Tungipara in East Bengal. Hasina’s father was Sheikh Mujibur Rahman who is also known as the founding father of Bangladesh and was the first President of the country. Sheikh Hasina has Iraqi Arab ancestry through her paternal grandfather.
Sheikh Hasina, in many interviews, has said that she had grown up in fear because of her father’s political work. Hasina married M.A. Wazed Miah in 1968. He passed away in 2009. During the peak of violence during the 1970 Pakistani General election, as well as her father’s arrest, Sheikh Hasina lived with her grandmother. She was also active in the student politics of the University of Dhaka.
Sheikh Hasina was not in Bangladesh when her father and most of her family were assassinated on August 15, 1975, during a military coup by the renegade officers of the Bangladesh Army. At the time, Hasina was in West Germany with her husband who was working as Nuclear Physicist.
Sheikh Hasina moved to New Delhi in late 1975, having been granted asylum by India. She was barred from entering Bangladesh until after she was elected to lead the Awami League on February 16, 1981and arrived home on May 17, 1981.
Personal Life:
Sheikh Hasina married M.A. Wazed Miah in 1968. He was a Bangladesh physicist, writer, and the Chairman of the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission. Sheikh Hasina has a son Sajeeb Wazed, and a daughter Saima Wazed.
Political Career:
Prime Minister of Bangladesh (1996-2001)
Sheikh Hasina served her first term as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh from 1996 to 2001 and also became the first Prime Minister of the country since Independence to complete a five-year term. During this tenure, she also signed the 30-year water sharing treaty with the Government of India governing the Ganges.
Second tenure as Prime Minister of Bangladesh (2009-2014)
On November 6, 2008, Sheikh Hasina returned to contest the 2008 General Elections in Bangladesh. She decided to participate in the Parliamentary elections under the banner of the ‘Grand Alliance’ with the Jatiya Party. Later on December 11, 2008, Sheikh Hasina announced her party’s election manifesto during a news conference.
During this term as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina succeeded in forming the International Crimes Tribunal, to investigate and prosecute the suspects involved in Bangladesh Genocide, committed by the Pakistani Army and their local collaborators.
Third tenure as Bangladesh Prime Minister (2014-2019)
Sheikh Hasina secured a second consecutive term in office as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh after winning the 2014 general election in a landslide victory. The elections were reportedly controversial, with reports of violence and an alleged crackdown on the opposition party in the run-up to the election.
Fourth tenure as Prime Minister (2019-2024)
Sheikh Hasina won her third consecutive term, her fourth overall as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh when her Awami League won 288 of the 300 Parliamentary seats. The leader of the opposition alliance, Kamal Hossain, declared the vote farcical and rejected the results. Sheikh Hasina, in May 2021, provided the inaugural address of the opening of a new headquarters for the Bangladesh Post office.
She resigned on 5th August, 2024 amidst political tensions in the country.
Sheikh Hasina Awards:
| Year | Award |
| 1998 | Mother Teresa Award by All India Peace Council |
| 1998 | M.K. Gandhi Award by Mahatma M.K. Gandhi Foundation of Oslo, Norway |
| 2000 | The Pearl S. Buck Award |
| 2014 | UNESCO Peace Tree Award for her commitment to Women’s Empowerment and Girls’ education |
| 2009 | Indira Gandhi Prize |
| 2015 | Recipient of Lifetime Achievement Award |
| 1999 | Honorary Doctor of Law by the University of Dhaka |
Popular Quotes of Sheikh Hasina:
- Maintenance of good relations with the neighbours, friendship to all, malice to none is the policy I pursue throughout my life.
- Poverty is the root of all evil.
- What people want is their basic needs. So I’m trying to help people ensure their basic need: that means food security, healthcare, education, and job opportunity and a better life.
- Indiscriminate firing by police on people is absolute barbarism. Instead of solving their problems, the government is trying to suppress the people by force.
- Dowry is still pervasive and spreading like cancer in the society. Apart from legal sanctions, there should be more social awareness on the issue so that people start to practice what they preach.
- I want to ask those who are aiding terror, what do you get by taking innocent lives? Islam is a religion of peace; you are maligning its name.
- My objective is to fulfil the dream of Bangabandhu through building a hunger- and poverty-free Golden Bangladesh being imbued with the spirit of the War of Liberation.
- After the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971, primary education was made free. We are now thinking to make education in the public sector free up to graduation level. We are also thinking of providing a light meal at primary and secondary schools in order to increase the student retention level.
- We will not allow any group to use our soil to launch a terror attack against any other country. Bangladesh is no longer an exporter of terrorism, nor is it a silk route for arms smuggling as it once was.
- With awareness and a social movement against extremism, we can prevent our children from becoming terrorists.
- It seems to be impossible to hold a credible election without reforming the electoral system.
- Terrorists have no religion, belief, or race. Having been a target of a number of terrorist attacks myself, I personally empathize with the victims of terrorism and appreciate their need for protection.
- Bangladesh is not a rich country, but we have a big heart.
- It is impossible for Bangladesh alone to take action against the rising sea level, as it has been a cumulative effect of global emission in which Bangladesh does not have any role. It is the responsibility of global community to address this issue as urgently as possible.
- I believe in peace. Only peaceful co-existence can ensure peace.
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