Tuesday 17 / February / 2026
Dhaka: Tarique Rahman has been sworn in as the new prime minister of Bangladesh after his Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) handily won parliamentary elections last week.
The 60-year-old is the son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and assassinated President Ziaur Rahman and will serve a five-year term. President Mohammed Shahabuddin administered the oath of office for Rahman and dozens of Cabinet members and members of the new government were also sworn in.
With his swearing in, Rahman replaces an interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus that oversaw the election, which was largely peaceful and widely accepted by international observers.
Rahman's government's biggest initial challenges will include restoring political stability, rebuilding investor confidence and reviving key industries such as the garment sector after the prolonged turmoil following the Gen Z-led uprising that toppled Sheikh Hasina’s government in 2024.
A BNP-led alliance won 212 seats in the 350-seat Parliament, while an 11-party coalition led by the Jamaat-e-Islami party, the country’s largest Islamist party, won 77 seats to be the opposition.
