Khaleda Zia, Bangladesh’s First Female Prime Minister, Dies at 80

Khaleda Zia, Bangladesh’s First Female Prime Minister, Dies at 80
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia waves to activists as she arrives for a rally in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Jan. 20, 2014. Andrew Biraj/Reuters
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DHAKA—Khaleda Zia, who became Bangladesh’s first female prime minister in 1991 and went on to develop a bitter rivalry with Sheikh Hasina as they spent decades trading power, died on Tuesday after a long illness. She was 80.

Her opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) said that she died after a prolonged illness. She had advanced cirrhosis of the liver, arthritis, diabetes, and chest and heart problems, her doctors said.