 Rahman delivering his first speech as prime minister on 17 February 2026 | |
| Premiership of Tarique Rahman 17 February 2026 –present | |
| Party | Bangladesh Nationalist Party |
|---|---|
First term 17 February 2026 –present | |
| Cabinet | Tarique |
| Election | 2026 |
| Appointed by | President Mohammed Shahabuddin |
| Seat | Dhaka-17 |
 | |
Tarique Rahman became the 11th prime minister of Bangladesh after his party,the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP),won the 2026 election and replaced the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus. [1] [2] [3]
After nearly two decades in exile, Tarique Rahman returned to Bangladesh in 2025 following the dismissal of legal charges by the judiciary under the interim government. The BNP won a landslide victory in the 2026 general election, securing 209 seats. [4] It was the first election since the July uprising of 2024, that ended Sheikh Hasina's 15-year-old regime. Rahman also personally won election to the Jatiya Sangsad from constituencies including Dhaka‑17 and Bogura‑6. [5] [6] As the leader of his party, he took over the positions of prime minister and the leader of the house.
Tarique Rahman was inaugurated for the first term as prime minister on 17 February 2026 at 16:00 BST. The ceremony was held in Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban South Plaza. Rahman along with 30 other members of the cabinet took oath. President Mohammed Shahabuddin administered the oath. [7] [8]
Rahman started his premiership by paying homage to the martyrs of the Liberation War at National Martyrs' Memorial and visiting the tombs of Ziaur Rahman and Khaleda Zia. He held the first meeting of his cabinet on 18 February 2026 at the Secretariat. Three priorities primarily were set by the government – price control of necessary commodities, improvement of law and order situation, and maintenance of normal supply of electricity and energy. [9]
He delivered his first speech on 17 February 2026 after swearing as the prime minister, where he placed the law and order, as well as the anti-corruption measures as top priority for the government, stating: [10]
As head of government, I want to draw the attention of the people to one issue — those who voted for BNP and gave it the opportunity to form the new government, those who did not vote for it, or those who did not vote for anyone at all, all have equal rights to this government.
The government also launched the family card, an initiative promised during the BNP's election campaign. Under the initiative, low-income and marginalized families will receive 2,500 taka or equally costed daily utensils per month using the card, which will be issued to the eldest female member of the family. The initiative is set to launch as a pilot project on 10 March 2026 in 14 Upazilas of the country. [11]
On 25 February 2026, the government replaced Ahsan H. Mansur with Mostakur Rahman as the governor of Bangladesh Bank (BB) after protests from a faction of bank officials. The move was criticized for downplaying the freedom of BB. Samakal compared this with US president Donald Trump's repeated threats to remove the chairman of the US Federal Reserve Jerome Powell. [12] [13]