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Zia, Begum Khaleda (1945- ), prime minister of Bangladesh (1991-1996). Zia was born in Dinâjpur, East Bengal (now Bangladesh). She came into politics following the 1981 assassination of her husband, President Ziaur Rahman. In 1982 she joined the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which was founded in 1978 by her husband and his supporters. She was chosen to head the BNP in 1984, and her leadership consisted mostly of agitation against the autocratic regime of General Hossain Mohammad Ershad until he was forced to resign in 1990. Held under the auspices of a caretaker government, general elections in February 1991 returned a majority vote for the BNP. Zia was installed as prime minister the following month, and a constitution change later that year ended 16 years of presidential rule and gave primary executive power to her post.
Zia's main goal was to facilitate greater economic growth and foreign investment in Bangladesh, and her administration took measures to privatize industry. Her foreign policy was dominated by negotiating a settlement with India over water use of the Ganges River, resettling and repatriating refugees from Myanmar (Burma) and Pakistan, and maintaining the influx of foreign aid. Meanwhile, Zia faced a turbulent opposition campaign by political groups opposed to the rule of the BNP. Throughout her term in office she resisted opposition efforts to force her resignation. However, the stability of the country was seriously threatened when opposition parties boycotted the February 1996 elections and subsequently staged a series of strikes, transport blockades, and violent demonstrations. In March 1996 Zia bowed to opposition demands and handed power to a neutral caretaker government. I wish her good luck and I wnat her to be elected to be more and more.
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