Tarique Rahman sworn in as Bangladesh’s new prime minister after BNP victory
Event date: 2026-02-17. Bangladesh’s new prime minister has been sworn in, completing a dramatic comeback for the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and restoring an elected government after 18 months of caretaker rule.
The Guardian reports that Tarique Rahman’s swearing-in formally ended the turbulent period that followed Sheikh Hasina’s removal in 2024. For the BNP, it was a return to power after two decades out of government. For the country, it was a moment many hoped would mark a move away from repression and unrest.
The BNP’s election performance was strong: the party won a commanding two-thirds majority, taking 212 of the 300 seats in the Jatiya Sangsad. An alliance that included Jamaat-e-Islami won 77 seats. Those numbers explain why Rahman arrived not as a compromise figure but as the clear winner of the parliamentary contest.
The ceremony itself was unusual. The report says the swearing-in took place outside at parliament rather than at the president’s official residence, and that 25 cabinet ministers and 24 junior ministers were sworn in alongside Rahman. That scale suggests the new administration wanted to present itself as fully formed from day one.
Rahman, 60, inherits a difficult agenda. The report says inflation, job creation, law and order and institutional reform are expected to dominate the early weeks. Bangladesh’s export-led garment economy has slowed under pressure from global shocks, currency strains and domestic upheaval, which makes economic repair as important as political symbolism.
The piece also places Rahman inside a long political lineage. His mother was Khaleda Zia, a former prime minister, and his father, Ziaur Rahman, founded the BNP and was a major figure in the independence struggle. That family history helps explain why his return carries so much political weight.
Internationally, the new government is already drawing attention. India sent a high-level delegation led by lower house speaker Om Birla, while the UK’s minister for the Indo-Pacific also attended. The report says Rahman wants to keep strong ties with China while resetting relations with the West and with India.
Voters also approved constitutional changes, including a two-term limit for prime ministers and stronger judicial independence. Those reforms show the election was about more than one party returning to office; it was also about adjusting the rules of the political system.
The shadow of Hasina remains. The report says she fled to India, was sentenced to death in absentia by a Bangladeshi tribunal and was barred from contesting the election. That backdrop makes Rahman’s first task not just governing, but proving that a new order can be more stable than the one it replaced.
