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Ziaur Rahman (Bengali: জিয়াউর রহমান Ziaur Rôhman) (January 19, 1936–May 30, 1981) was the President of Bangladesh and the founder of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. Popularly called General Zia, he is also sometimes referred to as Shaheed Zia (Martyr), in reference to his assassination. He was a charismatic national leader with a clear vision. His widow Begum Khaleda Zia has served as Prime Minister of Bangladesh three times between 1991 and 2006.
An officer in the Pakistan Army, Zia's unit took control of the Kalurghat radio station in Chittagong at the onset of the Bangladesh Liberation War and declared the independence of Bangladesh on behalf of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Recognized as a war hero, he was honored with the second highest national award Bir Uttom in 1972. A high-ranking accomplished officer in the Bangladesh Army, Zia was appointed chief of army staff in course of dramatic events that evolved following the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1975 by a group of junior military officers. This was followed shortly by another coup and counter-coup and ultimately led to the consolidation of power under General Zia as Chief Martial Law Administrator. The counter-coup, sometimes referred to as a sepoy mutiny was organised by the socialist Colonel Abu Taher.[1]
From Chief Martial Law Administrator (CMLA), General Ziaur Rahaman assumed the office of the president of the country in 1977 and won a popular referendum held in 1978 in support of his policies and leadership. He engaged himself in politics by floating a political party that came to be known as Jagodal. Later he founded the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP. Zia won widespread popular support for stabilising the nation and leading it in a new direction. Zia who turned out to be a right-wing politician, established free-market economic policies in a 19-point programme of industrialisation and development. For achieving popular support, he adopted policies bringing the government increasingly under Islam, which he included in the national constitution. It has been alleged that Zia helped individuals involved in the assassination of Sheikh Mujib rehabilitate home and abroad, immunized by the Indemnity Act. He also came to be known as Mr. Clean for his unquestionable integrity.
A popular yet controversial leader, Zia was assassinated in 1981 in an abortive military coup.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia