The long road home: Tarique Rahman takes Bangladesh’s top job after two decades in the wilderness

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairman Tarique Rahman takes oath as prime minister during a swearing-in ceremony at the National Parliament building in Dhaka on February 17, 2026. (Photo by MUNIR UZ ZAMAN / AFP)

Tarique Rahman, after 17 years in exile, has become Bangladesh’s prime minister following the BNP’s landslide win. He aims for economic reform, good governance, and national unity, marking a dramatic political comeback and reshaping Bangladesh’s political landscape.

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After nearly two decades on the political sidelines, Tarique Rahman has returned to Bangladesh not as a survivor of exile but as the country’s newly sworn-in prime minister, capping one of South Asia’s most improbable political comebacks.

Rahman, 60, took office on Tuesday after leading the Bangladesh Nationalist Party to a commanding victory in the 13th parliamentary elections held on February 12. The BNP secured 209 of 297 seats, ending nearly twenty years of political marginalisation and decisively reshaping Bangladesh’s political order.

The result also delivered a strong showing for right-wing Jamaat-e-Islami, which won 68 seats, while the Awami League of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina was barred from contesting. Hasina’s 15-year rule collapsed in August 2024 following nationwide student-led protests, clearing the path for the BNP’s return.

From exile to centre stage

Rahman’s ascent is inseparable from his family legacy. The BNP was founded by his father, Ziaur Rahman, a former military ruler who transitioned into politics before being assassinated in 1981. After his death, the party was led for nearly four decades by Rahman’s mother, Khaleda Zia, one of the most influential figures in the country’s political history.

Yet Rahman’s personal journey has been far from linear. He left Bangladesh in 2008 after being released from detention under a military-backed caretaker administration, saying he required medical treatment. What followed was a 17-year period of self-exile in London, during which the BNP steadily lost ground at home.

When Rahman finally returned to Bangladesh in December last year, he was greeted by massive crowds, a public reception that signalled both nostalgia and expectation. The moment, however, was quickly overshadowed by personal loss. Khaleda Zia died after a prolonged illness just five days after his return, forcing Rahman to assume full party leadership while in mourning.

Steering a wounded party

Taking over the BNP at such a juncture meant navigating grief alongside political uncertainty. Despite these challenges, Rahman is widely credited with imposing organisational discipline and reshaping the party’s public posture ahead of the elections. Often dismissed as a beneficiary of dynastic politics, he demonstrated an ability to consolidate factions and recalibrate strategy in a volatile environment.

A soft-spoken campaigner, Rahman drew large crowds while avoiding the incendiary rhetoric that had defined earlier eras of BNP politics. Instead, he repeatedly struck a conciliatory tone, even toward rivals, despite his long and bitter feud with the Awami League establishment.

Observers note that this restraint marked a sharp contrast with his reputation during the BNP’s 2001–2006 tenure under Khaleda Zia, when critics portrayed him as a brash power broker accused of running a parallel centre of authority. Rahman has consistently denied those allegations.

Early life and political rise

Born on November 20, 1965, in Dhaka, Rahman’s childhood was shaped by the upheaval of Bangladesh’s liberation struggle. During the 1971 war, he was arrested along with his mother and brother and released on December 16, the day Bangladesh achieved independence from Pakistan.

He later enrolled in international relations at the University of Dhaka but dropped out to pursue business ventures in textiles and agro-products. His formal rise within the BNP began in earnest in 2009, when he was elected Senior Vice-Chairman and gradually took charge of reorganising the party from behind the scenes.

In 1994, Rahman married cardiologist Dr Zubaida Rahman, the daughter of a former navy chief. The couple have one daughter, Zaima Zarnaz Rahman.

Legal battles and political resurrection

During the Awami League’s years in power, Rahman became the focus of multiple corruption and criminal cases. He was convicted in absentia in some and sentenced to life imprisonment for his alleged role in the 2004 grenade attack on a rally led by Sheikh Hasina, an incident that killed 24 people. Rahman has always described the cases as politically motivated and denied all charges.

Following Hasina’s ouster, all cases against him were reviewed during the interim administration led by Muhammad Yunus, and Rahman was acquitted.

When Khaleda Zia was jailed on graft charges in 2018, Rahman was appointed Acting Chairman of the BNP. After her death, he formally assumed the chairmanship and went on to guide the party to its most significant electoral victory in decades.

A vision shaped by exile

Hours after his return to Bangladesh in December, Rahman declared, “I have a plan for the people of my country and for my country,” echoing the famous words of Martin Luther King, “I have a dream.”

Since then, he has outlined a platform that blends economic reform with institutional safeguards. His proposals include expanding financial support for poor households through “family cards,” diversifying exports beyond garments into sectors such as toys and leather goods, and introducing a two-term, 10-year cap on prime ministers to prevent the concentration of power.

Rahman has acknowledged the scale of the task ahead in a country of 170 million people, identifying economic revival and good governance as his government’s top priorities.

Challenges within and beyond the party

Analysts caution that Rahman’s biggest test may lie within his own ranks. Over the past 18 months, some BNP activists have been accused of extortion and targeting rivals, prompting the party to expel around 10,000 members and face allegations of filing false criminal cases against opponents.

Still, many observers believe Rahman has changed. His long exile in a mature democratic system appears to have altered both his tone and outlook.

“This is not that Tarique we heard of or seen before,” PTI quoted a minority Hindu community leader as saying, after meeting Rahman for over an hour. The leader recalled Rahman cracking sophisticated jokes while outlining his vision for the country.

In his first post-election press conference, Rahman called for “national unity” and “peace,” warning that continued divisiveness would erode democracy. He cited a fragile economy, weakened institutions, and deteriorating law and order as urgent concerns.

Asked how he planned to reconcile with millions of Awami League supporters, Rahman offered a brief reply that signalled the governing philosophy he now seeks to project: “rule of law”.