The Spouse of the Prime Minister of Bangladesh is the wife or husband of the Prime Minister of Bangladesh. The role carries no official constitutional or statutory status, and the spouse receives no salary or defined public duties. In practice, spouses have traditionally attended social functions, official receptions, and ceremonial engagements alongside the prime minister, without a formal participatory role in government.
To date, eight women and two men have been married to a prime minister of Bangladesh while in office. Two prime ministers - Tajuddin Ahmad and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman - were later assassinated, leaving their wives widowed, and the country has otherwise seen frequent turnover in the role amid a series of short-lived governments.
The current prime minister, Tarique Rahman, has been married to Zubaida Rahman since 1994.
Role and duties
The position of spouse of the prime minister of Bangladesh has traditionally been a low-profile one, largely confined to hosting duties and attendance at state functions, with most holders of the role keeping little public presence of their own, a pattern reinforced by the fact that several prime ministers held office as widowers, with no spouse performing the role at all.
Dr. Zubaida Rahman has broken from this pattern, becoming the most publicly visible spouse in the role's history. Since her husband's swearing-in as prime minister in February 2026, she has taken on an active public advocacy role on women's health and family policy, drawing on her background as a physician. That month, she announced BNP plans to establish a Women Support Cell and expand safe-childbirth facilities at the upazila level, alongside pledges on paid maternity leave, prevention of child marriage, and free education for female students through the postgraduate level.