Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s dramatic exit from Bangladesh by helicopter on Monday amid pressure from protesters and the military is not the first time such a move has taken place in the South Asian country.
Since gaining independence half a century ago, many of the country’s leaders have been forced to flee or have had their tenures cut short by violent deaths.
AFP looks at five key points in Bangladesh’s turbulent history.
1975: Assassinations and coups galore
Formerly East Pakistan, Bangladesh emerged as a new nation in 1971 after a brutal war with India.
Independence hero Sheikh Mujibur Rahman became the country’s first prime minister, then implemented a one-party system and took over as president in January 1975.
Within a year, on 15 August, a group of soldiers assassinated him along with his wife and three sons. Following this, Khondakar Mustaq Ahmed, with the support of a section of the army, took power.
Ahmed’s tenure was short-lived. On 3 November he was ousted in a coup instigated by Army Chief of Staff Khalid Musharraf, who was assassinated by rival rebels.
After a number of coups and counter-coups, General Ziaur Rahman took power on 7 November.
1981-83: Bloody rebellion, bloodless coup
Rahman was assassinated during an attempted coup on 30 May 1981 after less than six years in power.
His Vice President, Abdus Sattar, took over as interim President with the support of General Hussain Muhammad Ershad.
But Ershad revolted against Sattar within a year and removed him from power in a bloodless coup on 24 March 1982.
Soon after assuming power he imposed martial law and made Ahsanuddin Chowdhury the President.
Then on 11 December 1983, Ershad declared himself head of state. Chowdhury, whose position was honorary, began leading a political party loyal to the general.
1990: Ershad resigns after protests
Following a wave of protests demanding democracy in Bangladesh, Ershad resigned as President on 6 December 1990.
Subsequently, he was arrested on 12 December, convicted of corruption charges and sent to jail.
Justice Minister Shahabuddin Ahmed took over as interim leader until elections were held the following year.
Ershad was finally released in January 1997.
1991: First free elections
The first free elections in the country were held in early 1991, with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) being the clear winner.
General Ziaur Rahman’s widow Khaleda Zia became the first woman Prime Minister of Bangladesh.
In 1996, Hasina’s Awami League defeated the BNP at the ballot box, after which she was replaced by her arch rival Sheikh Hasina, daughter of the country’s founding father Mujibur Rahman.
The BNP returned to power in 2001 and Zia once again became Prime Minister, completing his term in October 2006.
2007: Anti-corruption drive
In 2007, with the support of the military, President Iajuddin Ahmed declared a state of emergency following anti-government protests.
The military-led transitional government subsequently launched an anti-corruption drive and jailed both Hasina and Zia on corruption charges, but they were released in 2008.
Hasina again became prime minister after her party’s victory in elections in December 2008.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
