Ziaur Rahman

Ziaur Rahman (19 January 1936 – 30 May 1981) was a Bangladeshi military officer and politician who served as the sixth president of Bangladesh from 1977 until his assassination in 1981. One of the leading figures of the country's independence war, Ziaur has been nicknamed as the "Liberation Announcer" for broadcasting the Bangladeshi declaration of independence in March 1971 from Chittagong. He was the founder of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). He previously served as the third Chief of Army Staff from 1975 to 1978 with a minor break.

Ziaur, sometimes known as Zia, was born in Gabtali and trained at the Pakistan Military Academy in Abbottabad. He served as a commander in the Pakistan Army in the Second Kashmir War against the Indian Army, for which he was awarded the Hilal-e-Jurrat from the Pakistani government. Ziaur was a prominent Bangladesh Forces commander during the country's war in 1971. He broadcast the declaration of independence on 27 March from the Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra radio station in Kalurghat, Chittagong, and was since known as the "Announcer of the Liberation". During the war in 1971, Ziaur was a Bangladesh Forces Commander of BDF Sector 1 initially and BDF Commander of BDF Sector 11 of the Bangladesh Forces from June and the Brigade Commander of Z Force from mid-July. After the war, Ziaur became a brigade commander in the Bangladesh Army and later the Deputy Chief of Staff and then Chief of Staff of the Bangladesh Army. After the removal of Lt. Gen. K. M. Shafiullah following 15 August 1975 military coup, he was elevated to the position of Chief of Staff of the Army. He was removed from the position and house arrested following the 3 November coup. Following his direction, Lt. Col. (retd.) Abu Taher staged the 7 November coup (the Sipahi–Janata Revolution), after which, Ziaur Rahman gained the de facto power as head of the government under martial law imposed by the Justice Sayem government. He took over the presidency in 1977, and retired from the army with the rank in 1978 of Lt. General.

As president in 1978, Ziaur Rahman founded the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. He reinstated multi-party politics, freedom of the press, free speech, free markets, and accountability. He initiated mass irrigation and food production programmes, including social programmes to uplift the lives of the people. His government initiated efforts to create a regional group in South Asia, which later became SAARC in 1985. He improved Bangladesh's relations with the West and China and departed from Sheikh Mujib's close alignment with India. Domestically, Ziaur faced as many as twenty-one coup attempts for which military tribunals were set up, resulting in at least 200 soldiers of the army and air force being executed, earning him a reputation of being "strict" and "ruthless" amongst international observers. He was assassinated in an attempted coup in Chittagong on 30 May 1981.

Ziaur Rahman's death created a divided opinion on his legacy in Bangladeshi politics. He is credited with ending the disorder of the final years of Sheikh Mujib's rule and establishing democracy by abolishing BAKSAL, one-party rule established by Mujib. On the other hand, Ziaur Rahman is assailed by his critics for suppressing opposition. However, Zia's economic reforms are credited with rebuilding the economy, and his move towards Islamisation brought him the support of ordinary Bangladeshi people. His political party, the BNP, remains a major force in Bangladeshi politics, with his widow, Khaleda Zia, leading the party and serving three terms as prime minister.