Politics of Bangladesh takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Bangladesh is the head of government and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament. The Constitution of Bangladesh was written in 1972 and has undergone seventeen amendments.
The prime minister of Bangladesh, officially prime minister of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is the chief executive of the government of Bangladesh. The prime minister and the cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Parliament, to their political party and ultimately to the electorate. The prime minister is ceremonially appointed by the president of Bangladesh.
Chief of Army Staff (CAS) of Bangladesh Army, also known as Army Chief, is the commander of the Bangladesh Army. The Chief of Army staff has been a four-star rank since 2007. Prior to that, the Chief of Army Staff was a three-star rank from 1978 to 2007. During the liberation war of Bangladesh in 1971, Maj. Gen. M. A. Rab was the Chief of Staff of the Bangladesh Army under the combined command of Bangladesh Forces which served as the origins of Bangladesh Armed Forces and General M. A. G. Osmani was the Commander-in-Chief. After the War of Independence, Bangladesh Army was officially reverted to the Ministry of Defense in 1972, and Maj. Gen. K. M. Shafiullah was appointed the Chief of Army Staff. The incumbent Chief of Army Staff is General Waker-Uz-Zaman.
Hasan Mashhud Chowdhury was a Bangladesh Army general who was 11th Chief of Army Staff of the Bangladesh Army from 16 June 2002 to 15 June 2005. He was the last officer to serve in this position who had first been commissioned by and served with the Pakistani Army, before the Liberation War of 1971. He served for two years before the war.
The Special Security Force is a Bangladeshi law enforcement agency that provides protection to the President, Prime Minister and the Chief Adviser as well as any person designated as a VVIP as per state protocol, including visiting foreign dignitaries.
Mahfuz Anam is a leading Bangladeshi journalist and public intellectual. He is the editor and publisher of The Daily Star, which is the largest English newspaper in the country. Anam is one of the most influential journalists in Bangladesh. He was elected chairman of the Asia News Network in 2007, 2022 and 2023. He is also the founder of the Newspapers Owners Association of Bangladesh.
Iqbal Karim Bhuiyan SBP (BAR), psc is a retired Bangladeshi army officer who served as the Chief of Army Staff of the Bangladesh Army from 2012 to 2015. He took office of Army Chief at 25 June 2012 and retired on 25 June 2015. He joined Bangladesh Military Academy on 19 March 1976 and was commissioned on 30 November 1976 in the Infantry Regiment. Iqbal had a diversified and fine mix of all three types of appointment available in army. During his 39 years of service in the Bangladesh Army, He commanded three infantry battalions, an infantry brigade and three divisions. He also served as chief of general staff, colonel staff of a division, and platoon commander of the Bangladesh Military Academy. He participated in Operation Desert Storm and received 'Liberation of Kuwait Medal'.
Sheikh Mamun Khaled OSP, SUP is a retired lieutenant general of Bangladesh Army and former commandant of National Defence College.
Mujibur Rahman is a former Bangladeshi military officer who was the longest serving director general of the Special Security Force. Prior to his dismissal on 11 September 2024, he served as general officer commanding of Army Training and Doctrine Command. Before that, he was Quartermaster general at Army Headquarters. He came to the limelight in 2016, as the Operational Commander who carried out Operation Thunderbolt during the Holey Artisan Attack.
Mizanur Rahman Shamim is a Lieutenant General in the Bangladesh Army and incumbent Chief of General Staff (CGS) at army headquarters. Prior to join CGS, he was the Principal Staff Officer (PSO) of the, Armed Forces Division. He had served as General Officer commanding (GOC) of the 9th Infantry Division and Area Commander of the Savar Area.
Mohammed Shahabuddin, natively known as Chuppu, is a Bangladeshi jurist, civil servant and politician who has served as the 16th and current president of Bangladesh since 2023. He was elected unopposed in the 2023 presidential election as the nominee of the ruling Awami League. Prior to his presidency, Shahabuddin served as a district and sessions judge and a commissioner of the Anti-Corruption Commission from 2011 to 2016.
The following is a list of scheduled and expected events for the year 2024 in Bangladesh. 2024 (MMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, the 2024th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 24th year of the 3rd millennium and the 21st century, and the 5th year of the 2020s decade.
The Fifth Hasina Ministry, the 21st cabinet of Bangladesh, was led by Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina. It was established following the 2024 general election held on 7 January 2024. The election results were declared on the same day, leading to the formation of the 12th assembly in the Jatiya Sangsad. A cabinet comprising 43 members was subsequently sworn in.
The July massacre was the violent suppression and mass killings in Bangladesh during the July Revolution from July 16 to August 5, 2024. Triggered by the reinstatement of a controversial quota system and widespread public dissatisfaction, the crackdown was carried out by the government led by the Awami League party, its affiliated groups such as the Chhatra League, and various law enforcement agencies.
The non-cooperation movement, also known as the one-point movement, was a pro-democratic disinvestment movement and a mass uprising against the Awami League-led government of Bangladesh, initiated within the framework of 2024 Bangladesh quota reform movement. The sole demand of this movement was the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her cabinet. It was the final stage of the wider movement known as the Student–People's uprising or the July Revolution. Although the movement was initially limited to the goal of reforming quotas in government jobs, it snowballed into a mass anti-government uprising after the deaths of several protesters. The movement was also fueled by ongoing socio-economic and political issues, including the government's mismanagement of the national economy, rampant corruption by government officials, human rights violations, allegations of undermining the country's sovereignty by Sheikh Hasina, and increasing authoritarianism and democratic backsliding.
An interim government led by Muhammad Yunus was formed on 8 August 2024 in Bangladesh, following the resignation and fleeing of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on 5 August 2024 amid nationwide student and public protests against the government. Following the dissolution of the 12th Jatiya Sangsad on 6 August 2024, the interim cabinet will remain in office until a new Prime Minister is appointed after a snap general election. The government, like the previous non-caretaker government interim administrations, is extra-constitutional. However, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh affirmed the legality of the stopgap government on 9 August 2024, stating that the doctrine of necessity created an urgent need to manage state affairs and address the constitutional vacuum, similar to previous cases. The main pledge of his ministry is organize a constituent assembly to draft and adopt a new, democratic and inclusive constitution, ensuring the inviolability of human dignity.
The leadership of Muhammad Yunus began on 8 August 2024 when he was sworn in as the Chief Adviser of Bangladesh by President Mohammed Shahabuddin. In August 2024, after the resignation of Sheikh Hasina as prime minister and her departure to India following the Student–People's uprising, the key coordinators of the uprising announced that Yunus would be Chief Adviser of the interim government. The main pledge of this government is organise a constituent assembly to draft and adopt a new, inclusive, democratic constitution, ensuring the inviolability of human dignity.
The Students–People's uprising, also known as the July Revolution, was a pro-democracy mass uprising in Bangladesh. It began as a quota reform movement in early June 2024, led by the Anti-discrimination Students Movement, after the Bangladesh Supreme Court invalidated the government's 2018 circular regarding job quotas in the public sector. The movement escalated into a full-fledged mass uprising after the government carried out mass killings of protesters, known as the July massacre, by late July. By early August, the movement evolved into a non-cooperation movement, ultimately leading to the ouster of the then-prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, who fled Bangladesh to India. Hasina's ouster triggered a constitutional crisis, leading to the formation of an interim government led by the country's only Nobel laureate, Muhammad Yunus, as the chief adviser.
Sheikh Hasina's tenure as Prime Minister of Bangladesh began on 23 June 1996, when she assumed office after her party, the Awami League, won the general election, succeeding Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Her first term lasted until 15 July 2001. She returned to office on 6 January 2009 following her party’s landslide victory in the 2008 general election and had further electoral wins in 2014, 2018 and 2024 general elections, though these elections was widely criticised for lacking transparency, with opposition parties boycotting those elections and international observers alleging vote manipulation and suppression.
