Back Ziaur Rahman AN ضياء الرحمن Arabic ضياء الرحمن ARZ জিয়াউৰ ৰহমান Assamese Ziaur Rahman AST জিয়াউর রহমান Bengali/Bangla Ziaur Rahman German Ζιαούρ Ραχμάν Greek Ziaur Rahman Spanish Ziaur Rahman Basque

Ziaur Rahman

This article is about the former president of Bangladesh. For other people named Ziaur Rahman, see Ziaur Rahman (disambiguation).

Lieutenant General
Ziaur Rahman
BU HJ HOR 
জিয়াউর রহমান
Ziaur Rahman in 1979
6th President of Bangladesh
In office
21 April 1977 – 30 May 1981
Prime Minister
Vice PresidentAbdus Sattar
Preceded byAbu Sadat Mohammad Sayem
Succeeded byAbdus Sattar
1st Chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party
In office
1 September 1978 – 30 May 1981
General SecretaryA. Q. M. Badruddoza Chowdhury
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byAbdus Sattar
3rd Chief of Army Staff
In office
24 August 1975 – 4 November 1975
PresidentKhondaker Mostaq Ahmad
Prime MinisterNone
Preceded byK. M. Shafiullah
Succeeded byKhaled Mosharraf
In office
7 November 1975 – 28 April 1978
President
Prime MinisterNone
Preceded byKhaled Mosharraf
Succeeded byHussain Muhammad Ershad
Personal details
Born(1936-01-19)19 January 1936
Bagbari, Bengal Province, British India
Died30 May 1981(1981-05-30) (aged 45)
Chittagong, Bangladesh
Manner of deathAssassination
Resting placeMausoleum of Ziaur Rahman
Nationality
Political partyBangladesh Nationalist Party
Spouse
​
(m. 1960)​
Children
RelativesSee Majumder–Zia family
Alma mater
Awards Bir Uttom
Independence Award
Hilal-i-Jur'at
Order of the Nile
Order of the Yugoslav Star
Hero of the Republic
SAARC Award
Signature
Military service
Allegiance
Branch/service
Years of service1955–1978
Rank
Lieutenant General
[1]
Unit East Bengal Regiment
Commands
Battles/wars
Bengali
This article contains Bengali text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols.

Ziaur Rahman[a] (19 January 1936 – 30 May 1981) was a Bangladeshi military officer and politician who served as the sixth president of Bangladesh from 1977 until his assassination in 1981.[3] One of the leading figures of the country's independence war, he broadcast the Bangladeshi declaration of independence in March 1971 from Chittagong.[b] He was the founder of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).[7] He previously served as the third Chief of Army Staff from 1975 to 1978 with a minor break.[1]

Ziaur, sometimes known as Zia, was born in Gabtali and trained at the Pakistan Military Academy in Abbottabad. He served as a commander in the Pakistan Army in the Second Kashmir War against the Indian Army, for which he was awarded the Hilal-e-Jurrat from the Pakistani government. Ziaur was a prominent Bangladesh Forces commander during the country's war in 1971.[8] He broadcast the declaration of independence on 27 March from the Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra radio station in Kalurghat, Chittagong.[9] During the war in 1971, Ziaur was a Bangladesh Forces Commander of BDF Sector 1 initially and BDF Commander of BDF Sector 11 of the Bangladesh Forces from June and the Brigade Commander of Z Force from mid-July.[10] After the war, Ziaur became a brigade commander in the Bangladesh Army and later the Deputy Chief of Staff and then Chief of Staff of the Bangladesh Army.[citation needed] After the removal of Lt. Gen. K. M. Shafiullah following 15 August 1975 military coup, he was elevated to the position of Chief of Staff of the Army. He was removed from the position and house arrested following the 3 November coup. Following his direction, Lt. Col. (retd.) Abu Taher staged the 7 November coup (the Sipahi–Janata Revolution), after which, Ziaur Rahman gained the de facto power as head of the government under martial law imposed by the Justice Sayem government. He took over the presidency in 1977.[11]

As president in 1978, Ziaur Rahman founded the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. He reinstated multi-party politics, freedom of the press, free speech, free markets, and accountability. He initiated mass irrigation and food production programmes, including social programmes to uplift the lives of the people.[12] His government initiated efforts to create a regional group in South Asia, which later became SAARC in 1985. He improved Bangladesh's relations with the West and China and departed from Sheikh Mujib's close alignment with India. Domestically, Ziaur faced as many as twenty-one coup attempts for which military tribunals were set up, resulting in at least 200 soldiers of the army and air force being executed, earning him a reputation of being "strict" and "ruthless" amongst international observers.[13] Throughout his military career, Ziaur Rahman was awarded two gallantry awards for two campaigns he participated in; he was awarded the Hilal-i-Jurat for the Indo-Pak War in 1965 and Bir Uttom in 1972 for the Bangladesh Liberation War. He retired from the Bangladesh Army with the rank of Lt. General in 1978.[14][15]

Ziaur Rahman's death created a divided opinion on his legacy in Bangladeshi politics. Awami League supporters vilify him for alleged connections to Sheikh Mujib's assassination and controversial actions during his presidency.[c] Critics argue that Sheikh Hasina's authoritarian regime politically motivated the negative portrayal of Ziaur's legacy.[d] Nevertheless, Zia is generally credited for his role in the Independence War, stabilising Bangladesh, industrialising agriculture, and fostering regional cooperation.[e] His political party, the BNP, remains a major force alongside its rival, the Awami League, with his widow, Khaleda Zia,[26] leading the party and serving three terms as prime minister.[27]

  1. ^ a b "List of Chief of Army Staff". Bangladesh Army. Archived from the original on 22 February 2024.
  2. ^ "Part III: Notifications issued by the Ministry of Defence other than those included in Part I". The Bangladesh Gazette. Government of Bangladesh. 19 April 1979, reproduced between pages 90 and 91 of Mascarenhas, Anthony (1986). Bangladesh: A Legacy of Blood. Hodder and Stoughton. ISBN 0-340-39420-X.
  3. ^ "Bangladesh Reports Death of President Ziaur Rahman". The New York Times. 30 May 1981. Archived from the original on 6 August 2024.
  4. ^ "March 27, 1971: Zia makes radio announcement on independence". The Daily Star (Bangladesh). 27 March 2018. Archived from the original on 17 June 2023. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  5. ^ "Radio Interview". 10 December 2007. Archived from the original on 16 November 2023. Retrieved 27 July 2015 – via YouTube.
  6. ^ "Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendro and Bangladesh's Declaration of Independence". The Daily Star (Bangladesh). Archived from the original on 4 February 2023. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  7. ^ Rangan, Kasturi (31 May 1981). "Bangladesh Leader is Shot and Killed in a Coup Attempt". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 31 July 2024.
  8. ^ Sirajul Islam; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir, eds. (2012). "Rahman, Shahid Ziaur". Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. OL 30677644M. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
  9. ^ Sajen, Shamsuddoza (27 March 2024). "Indomitable March: Archer K blood's situation report". The Daily Star. Archived from the original on 23 August 2024. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  10. ^ M, Barbara (15 August 2022) [15 August 2022]. "Top 10 Facts about Ziaur Rahman". Discover Walks Blog. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  11. ^ "THE WORLD; Everyone Loses In Bangladesh Coup Attempt". The New York Times. 7 June 1981. Archived from the original on 25 August 2024.
  12. ^ "Vast Crowds Mourn at Burial of Zia". The Washington Post. 2 June 1981.
  13. ^ "Bangladesh Reports Death of President Ziaur Rahman". The New York Times. 30 May 1981. Archived from the original on 6 August 2024.
  14. ^ "Former Presidents, Lt. General Ziaur Rahman". Bangabhaban. Archived from the original on 5 June 2013. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  15. ^ Mascarenhas, Anthony (1986). Bangladesh: A Legacy of Blood. Hodder and Stoughton. p. 126. ISBN 0-340-39420-X.
  16. ^ "'Zia tried to undo all of Bangabandhu's work'". Dhaka Tribune. 20 August 2022. Archived from the original on 19 August 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  17. ^ "BNP founder Ziaur Rahman was involved in the 1975 carnage that killed Sheikh Mujib: Bangladesh PM". South Asia Monitor. Archived from the original on 16 November 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  18. ^ "45 years on, families of army and air force officers executed by Gen Zia still await justice". The Business Standard. 12 December 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  19. ^ "AL bent on falsely implicating Zia for August 15". The Business Post. Archived from the original on 19 January 2024. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  20. ^ "Questioning Zia's role in war is loquacity: BNP". New Age (Bangladesh). Archived from the original on 21 April 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  21. ^ "Bangladesh's authoritarian shift". East Asia Forum. 17 January 2020. Archived from the original on 20 June 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  22. ^ "In Dhaka, a prime minister's 'vendetta' is shaping politics". Financial Times. 13 January 2023. Archived from the original on 17 April 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  23. ^ Ledbetter, Les (31 May 1981). "Ziaur Rahman was strict leader who tried to give nation direction". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 9 August 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  24. ^ Cite error: The named reference Franda 1981 357–380 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  25. ^ "Remembering Ziaur Rahman, the Leader that "lifted the nation to its feet"". South Asia Journal. 3 June 2021. Archived from the original on 2 April 2023. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  26. ^ "PRESIDENT'S WIDOW NAMED BANGLADESH PRIME MINISTER". The Washington Post. 20 March 1981.
  27. ^ Rahman, Tahmina. "From Revolutionaries to Visionless Parties: Leftist Politics in Bangladesh". Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Archived from the original on 6 September 2022. Retrieved 18 November 2022.


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