The Prime Minister of Bangladesh, officially the Prime Minister of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh , is the head of government of Bangladesh. The Prime Minister leads the cabinet and, together with the cabinet, is collectively responsible for their policies and decisions to the parliament, to their political party, and ultimately to the electorate. While the Prime Minister is the chief executive of the government, they are ceremonially appointed by the President of Bangladesh and exercise powers in accordance with the constitution and parliamentary conventions.
The position was taken over by the Bangladesh Armed Forces during the years of 1975–78, 1982–86 and 1990–91 due to imposed martial law. In each of these periods, the national government leadership was controlled by the Armed Forces with the executive authority of the President and the Prime Minister. During the period between 1996 and 2008, the Chief Adviser of the caretaker government exercised authority as per the Constitution as chief executive for 90 days during the transition from one elected government to another. The Chief Adviser heads an Advisory Committee consisting of ten advisers. With powers roughly equivalent to an elected Prime Minister, its executive power was constrained by certain constitutional limitations. The system was scrapped in 2011 by the 15th Amendment of the Constitution to allow any political government to conduct a general election in the future. However, on 17 December 2024, the 15th Amendment was declared illegal by the Supreme Court of Bangladesh.
Sheikh Hasina was the longest-serving Prime Minister in the country's history until her resignation on 5 August 2024, which left the position vacant. Tarique Rahman assumed office on 17 February 2026, after his Bangladesh Nationalist Party won the 2026 general election.
Contents
Appointment
According to the Constitution, the Prime Minister is appointed by the President based upon the result of the electorate's choice in a parliamentary general election held by the Election Commission. The Prime Minister is the leader of the majority party (or coalition) in the Jatiya Sangsad and must have the confidence of the Jatiya Sangsad to govern. The Cabinet is composed of Ministers selected by the Prime Minister and appointed by the President. At least 90% of the Ministers must be MPs. The other 10% may be non-MP experts or "technocrats" who are not otherwise disqualified from being elected MPs. According to the Constitution, the President can dissolve Parliament upon the written request of the Prime Minister. The appointments of the Prime Minister and other Ministers and Ministers of State shall be made by the President: At least nine-tenths of their number shall be appointed from among Members of Parliament, and not more than one-tenth of their number may be chosen from persons qualified for election as Members of Parliament.
The Prime Minister is appointed and sworn in by the President through the oath below:
Bangla
আমি, (নাম), সশ্রদ্ধচিত্তে শপথ (বা দৃঢ়ভাবে ঘোষণা) করিতেছি যে, আমি আইন-অনুযায়ী সরকারের প্রধানমন্ত্রী (কিংবা ক্ষেত্রমত মন্ত্রী, প্রতি-মন্ত্রী, বা উপমন্ত্রী)-পদের কর্তব্য বিশ্বস্ততার সহিত পালন করিব: আমি বাংলাদেশের প্রতি অকৃত্রিম বিশ্বাস ও আনুগত্য পোষণ করিব; আমি সংবিধানের রক্ষণ, সমর্থন ও নিরাপত্তাবিধান করিব; এবং আমি ভীতি বা অনুগ্রহ, অনুরাগ বা বিরাগের বশবর্তী না হইয়া সকলের প্রতি আইন-অনুযায়ী যথাবিহীত আচরণ করিব।
English
I, (name) do swear with honor (or solemnly affirm) that I, according to the laws, shall faithfully discharge the functions of the office of the Prime Minister (or Minister or State Minister or Sub-minister, as the circumstances allow). I shall possess pure faith and obedience to Bangladesh. I shall preserve, support, and secure the constitution and deal with all with equity as suggested by laws, without being affected by fear or mercy, love or hatred.
Duties of the Office
The office of the Prime Minister is located at Tejgaon in Dhaka. It is considered a government ministry and, among other duties, provides clerical, security, and other support to the Prime Minister, governs intelligence affairs and NGOs, and arranges protocol and ceremonies.
Some specific ministries/departments are not allocated to anyone in the cabinet but the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is usually always in charge/head of:
Leader of the House (responsible for managing and scheduling government business in the Jatiya Sangsad)
Cabinet Division
Head of the Armed Forces Division
Minister of Defense
Minister of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources
Chairperson of the Planning Commission
Bangladeshi intelligence community
History and timeline
Bangladesh's origins lie in Bengal, a province of British India that included present-day West Bengal. Between 1937 and 1947, it was intermittently governed by a popularly elected ministry, whose head was often designated the Premier of Bengal. In 1947, the Province of Bengal was partitioned into the Indian state of West Bengal and East Pakistan. All three erstwhile Bengal premiers—A. K. Fazlul Huq, Khawaja Nazimuddin and H. S. Suhrawardy—became Pakistani citizens; the latter two went on to become Prime Ministers of Pakistan in the 1950s.
East Pakistan's history from 1947 to 1971 was marked by political instability and economic difficulties. The nascent democratic institutions foundered in the face of military intervention in 1958, and the government imposed martial law between 1958 and 1962 and again between 1969 and 1971. Between 1947 and 1971, it was intermittently governed by Governors and the Chief Ministers of East Pakistan.
Independence and first parliamentary era (1971–1975)
The modern office of the prime minister was established following the declaration of independence of East Pakistan by the Provisional Government of Bangladesh on 17 April 1971, of which Tajuddin Ahmad became the first Prime Minister of Bangladesh. Since the adoption of the current Constitution of Bangladesh in 1972, the formal title of the office is the Prime Minister of the People's Republic of Bangladesh.
Military coups and presidential regimes (1975–1991)
From 1975 to 1991, the Prime Minister was appointed by the President while the President had executive power. However, S. A. Bari was Prime Minister during this time.
Return of parliamentary government (1991–present)
In September 1991, the Electorate approved changes to the Constitution, formally creating a parliamentary system and returning governing power to the office of the Prime Minister, as in Bangladesh's original Constitution. In October 1991, Members of Parliament elected a new head of state, President Abdur Rahman Biswas.
Khaleda Zia served as Prime Minister of Bangladesh twice from 1991 to 1996 and from 2001 to 2006. Once in power, Khaleda Zia's government made substantial changes in education policy, introducing free education for girls up to the 10th grade, a stipend for female students, and food for education programme funds. It also made the highest budgetary allocation in the education sector since her administration.
She became Prime Minister for the second consecutive term after the BNP had a landslide victory on 15 February 1996 general election to the sixth Jatiya Sangsad which was widely believed to be rigged, after allegations or the BNP bribing the then Election Commissioner arose. The election was, however, boycotted by all other major parties who were demanding that the elections be held under a neutral caretaker government, following allegations of rigging in a by-election held in 1994. Turnout was estimated at around 5%, though the government at the time claimed it to be much higher. On 12 June 1996 polls, BNP lost to Sheikh Hasina's Awami League but emerged as the largest opposition party in the country's parliamentary history with 116 seats.
Aiming to return to power, the BNP formed a four-party alliance on 6 January 1999 with its former political opponent, the Jatiya Party, and the Islamic party of Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh and the Islami Oikya Jot whom launched several agitation programmes against the ruling Awami League. In the 2001 general elections BNP won the election with a two-thirds majority of seats in the Jatiya Sangsad and 46% of the total vote (compared to the principal opposition party's 40%) and Khaleda Zia was once again sworn in as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh.
In the 2008 elections, they faced a landslide defeat. The Khaleda-led Four-Party alliance won only 32 seats and emerged as the smallest opposition party in the country's parliamentary history. They won only 32% of the total vote whereas their main rival, the Awami League won more than 50% of the total vote.
Prime Ministerial residence and office
The principal official residence of the Prime Minister at State Guest House Jamuna is located in Dhaka. The Prime Minister's Office is situated at Tejgaon in Dhaka, which serves as the principal workplace of the Prime Minister.