Topic summary

Prime Minister of Bangladesh

Prime Minister of Bangladesh

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.