The year 1996 was the 25th year after the independence of Bangladesh. It was also the first year of the first term of the Government of

Sheikh Hasina Sheikh Hasina Wazed (''née'' Sheikh Hasina ; ; bn, শেখ হাসিনা ওয়াজেদ, Shēkh Hasinā, , born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Prime Minister ...

Incumbents

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Abdur Rahman Biswas Abdur Rahman Biswas (1 September 1926 – 3 November 2017) was a Bangladeshi politician. He was the President of Bangladesh from 1991 to 1996. Biswas represented Pakistan at the United Nations General Assembly prior to the independence of Bangla ...

(until 9 October),

Shahabuddin Ahmed Shahabuddin Ahmed (1 February 1930 – 19 March 2022) served as the President of Bangladesh from 1996 to 2001, and the Chief Justice of Bangladesh from 1990 to 1995. He previously served as the acting president during 1990–91 when Hussain Mu ...

(starting 9 October) *

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

: ** until 30 March:

Khaleda Zia Khaleda Zia (; born Khaleda Khanam Putul in 1945) is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh from March 1991 to March 1996, and again from June 2001 to October 2006. She was the first female prime minister of Ba ...

** 30 March – 23 June:

Muhammad Habibur Rahman Muhammad Habibur Rahman (3 December 1928 – 11 January 2014) was a Chief Justice of Bangladesh Supreme Court in 1995. He was the Chief Adviser of Bangladesh, Chief Adviser of the 1996 caretaker government which oversaw the Seventh parliamentary ...

** starting 23 June:

* Chief Justice: A.T.M Afzal

Demography

Climate

Economy

Note: For the year 1996 average official exchange rate for BDT was 41.79 per US$.

Events

9 January Events Pre-1600 * 681 – Twelfth Council of Toledo: King Erwig of the Visigoths initiates a council in which he implements diverse measures against the Jews in Spain. *1127 – Jin–Song Wars: Invading Jurchen soldiers from the J ...

- At least 16 people were killed and more than 100 injured in the head-on collision of two trains near Chandpur. *

15 February Events Pre-1600 * 438 – Roman emperor Theodosius II publishes the law codex Codex Theodosianus * 590 – Khosrau II is crowned king of Persia. * 706 – Byzantine emperor Justinian II has his predecessors Leontios and Tiberios ...

- The Sixth National Parliamentary Elections 1996 was held in

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

on 15 February 1996. They were boycotted by most opposition parties, and saw voter turnout drop to just 21%. The result was a victory for the

Bangladesh Nationalist Party The Bangladesh Nationalist Party ( bn, বাংলাদেশ জাতীয়তাবাদী দল, Bangladesh Jātīyotābādī Dol; BNP) is a centre-right to right-wing nationalist, political party in Bangladesh and one of the major ...

(BNP), which won 300 of the 300 elected seats. *

22 March Events Pre-1600 *AD 106, 106 – Start of the Bostran era, the calendar of the province of Arabia Petraea. * 235 – Roman emperor Severus Alexander is murdered, marking the start of the Crisis of the Third Century. * 871 – Æth ...

– Inauguration of the

Liberation War Museum The Liberation War Museum ( bn, মুক্তিযুদ্ধ জাদুঘর ''Muktijuddho Jadughôr'') is a museum at Agargaon in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, which commemorates the Bangladesh Liberation War that led to the indep ...

in Dhaka. *

25 March Events Pre-1600 * 421 – Italian city Venice is founded with the dedication of the first church, that of San Giacomo di Rialto on the islet of Rialto. * 708 – Pope Constantine becomes the 88th pope. He would be the last pope to vi ...

– Following escalating political turmoil, the sitting Parliament enacted the thirteenth constitutional amendment to allow a neutral

caretaker government A caretaker government is a temporary ''ad hoc'' government that performs some governmental duties and functions in a country until a regular government is elected or formed. Depending on specific practice, it usually consists of either randomly se ...

to assume power and conduct new parliamentary elections. On 30 March the President appointed former Chief Justice

as Chief Advisor (a position equivalent to prime minister) in the interim government. A new election was scheduled for 12 June 1996. *

14 May Events Pre-1600 *1027 – Robert II of France names his son Henry I as junior King of the Franks. * 1097 – The Siege of Nicaea begins during the First Crusade. *1264 – Battle of Lewes: Henry III of England is captured and force ...

– Over 400 are killed as a tornado strikes northern Bangladesh. * 19 May – Failed attempt of coup d'état by Lt. Gen.

Abu Saleh Mohammad Nasim Abu Saleh Mohammad Nasim Bir Bikrom (born 4 January 1946) is a former Chief of Army Staff of the Bangladesh Army. In 1996, he attempted a military coup of the caretaker government which was preparing for general elections. After failure of the ...

, Bir Bikram. * 12 June – The Seventh National Parliamentary Elections 1996 were held in

on 12 June 1996. The result was a victory for the

Bangladesh Awami League Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

, which won 146 of the 300 seats, beginning Sheikh Hasina's first-term as

. Voter turnout was 75.6%, the highest to date. This election was the second to be held in 1996, following controversial elections held in February a few months earlier. * 5 November – Starting with a base of 350 points, the share price index of the

Dhaka Stock Exchange The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) ( bn, ঢাকা স্টক এক্সচেঞ্জ ''Dhaka stôk ekschenj''), located in Nikunja, Dhaka, is one of the two stock exchanges of Bangladesh, the other being the Chittagong Stock Exchange. In ...

rose as high as 3,648.75 points. The following day it started falling and it came down to 462 points in May 1999. The crash left millions of investors penniless. *

12 December Events Pre-1600 * 627 – Battle of Nineveh: A Byzantine army under Emperor Heraclius defeats Emperor Khosrau II's Persian forces, commanded by General Rhahzadh. * 1388 – Maria of Enghien sells the lordship of Argos and Nauplia t ...

– A 30-year treaty on sharing of the Ganges water was signed between India and Bangladesh.

Awards and Recognitions

Independence Day Award

Ekushey Padak

# Hasnat Abdul Hye (literature) #

Rahat Khan Rahat Khan (19 December 1940 – 28 August 2020) was a Bangladeshi journalist and litterateur. He wrote more than 32 novels. He won Bangla Academy Literary Award in 1973 and Ekushey Padak in 1996 by the Government of Bangladesh. Early life Kh ...

(literature) # A K M Firoz Alam (music) #

Muhammad Abdul Hye Muhammad Abdul Hye (26 November 1919 – 3 June 1969) was a Bengali educationist, litterateur, researcher and linguist. He was awarded Bangla Academy Literary Award in 1961 and Ekushey Padak in 1996 by the Government of Bangladesh. Education an ...

(education) #

Sirajul Islam Chowdhury Serajul Islam Choudhury (born 23 June 1936) is a Bangladeshi literary critic, public intellectual, social and political analyst, activist, historian, educationist, editor, translator, columnist, and professor emeritus at the University of Dhaka. ...

(education) # Mohammad Kamruzzaman (journalism) # Mohammad Shahjahan (education)

Sports

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

: **

sent a delegation to compete in the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Bangladesh did not win any medals in the competition. * Domestic

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

: ** Mohammedan SC won

Dhaka League Dhaka Senior Division Football League, also referred as First Division Football League, is the third tier of football league in Bangladesh. Until 2006, it was the top-tier league of the country. It was established in 1948 as Dhaka League, while ...

title while Abahani KC came out runner-up.

Births

* 15 April – Faraaz Ayaaz Hossain, martyr (d. 2016)

Deaths

* 10 January – Alamgir M. A. Kabir, social activist (b. 1911) *

20 February Events Pre-1600 *1339 – The Milanese army and the St. George's (San Giorgio) Mercenaries of Lodrisio Visconti clash in the Battle of Parabiago; Visconti is defeated. *1472 – Orkney and Shetland are pawn (law), pawned by Norway to ...

–

Kazi Abul Monsur Kazi Abul Monsur (1918 – 20 February 1996) was a physician and microbiologist of Bangladesh. He was awarded Independence Day Award posthumously in 1996 by the Government of Bangladesh for his contribution in the field of medical science. Early ...

, physician and microbiologist (b. 1918) *

5 March Events Pre-1600 * 363 – Roman emperor Julian leaves Antioch with an army of 90,000 to attack the Sasanian Empire, in a campaign which would bring about his own death. * 1046 – Nasir Khusraw begins the seven-year Middle Eastern ...

–

Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad (also spelled Khandakar Mushtaq Ahmed; – 5 March 1996) was a Bangladeshi politician. He was the President of Bangladesh from 15 August to 6 November 1975, after the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He was part ...

, President of Bangladesh (b. 1919) *

9 April Events Pre-1600 * 193 – The distinguished soldier Septimius Severus is proclaimed emperor by the army in Illyricum. * 475 – Byzantine Emperor Basiliscus issues a circular letter (''Enkyklikon'') to the bishops of his empire, sup ...

–

Fazlul Halim Chowdhury Fazlul Halim Chowdhury (1 August 19309 April 1996) was a fellow of the Bangladesh Academy of Sciences and one of the longest-serving Vice-Chancellors of the University of Dhaka. He made pioneering contributions to the development of physical che ...

, academician (b. 1930) *

– Abdul Ahad, music director (b. 1918) *

31 May Events Pre-1600 * 455 – Emperor Petronius Maximus is stoned to death by an angry mob while fleeing Rome. *1223 – Mongol invasion of the Cumans: Battle of the Kalka River: Mongol armies of Genghis Khan led by Subutai defeat Kieva ...

– Syed Golam Kibria, journalist (b. 1933) *

6 September Events Pre-1600 * 394 – Battle of the Frigidus: Roman emperor Theodosius I defeats and kills Eugenius the usurper. His Frankish ''magister militum'' Arbogast escapes but commits suicide two days later. *1492 – Christopher Colum ...

– Mohammad Noman, academician *

–

Salman Shah Salman Shah (Urdu: سلمان شاہ) is a Pakistani economist who serves as Advisor to the Chief Minister of Punjab on Economic Affairs and Planning & Development. Previously, he has served as the caretaker Finance Minister of Pakistan. He ...

, movie and TV actor (b. 1971)

References

{{Year in Asia, 1996