Sheikh Hasina has been sworn in as prime minister of Bangladesh for an unprecedented fifth term after her party won an absolute majority in Jan 7 general election.

The oath-taking ceremony for the newly appointed members of cabinet began at the president’s official residence Bangabhaban’s Darbar Hall at 7 pm on Thursday. According to tradition, President Mohammed Shahabuddin then gave Hasina the oath of duty and secrecy as the head of government.

Afterwards, he offered her his congratulations. Following the prime minister, the new members of cabinet were sworn in by the president.

The ceremony was moderated by Cabinet Secretary Md Mahbub Hossain.

Hasina has picked 25 ministers and 11 state ministers to run the country alongside her. For a fresh start, 14 new names will be added to the cabinet following the 12th parliamentary polls.

The president greeted Awami League President Hasina upon her arrival at the Bangabhaban at 6:50pm. The head of state and head of government then spoke privately for some time.

Afterwards, the prime minister stepped into Darbar Hall. Sheikh Rehana, Hasina’s younger sister, accompanied them.

During the ceremony, Hasina stood in the front row, flanked by Rehana on one side and Rebecca Sultana, the president’s wife, on the other. Rehana’s son Radwan Mujib Siddiq was also in the front row.

Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury and Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan were also present.

Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader, the leader of the opposition in the 11th parliament, and General Secretary Ruhul Amin Howlader attended as well.

Dhaka North City Corporation Mayor Fazle Noor Taposh was in the guest seats.

Members of the 14-Party Alliance, including Workers Party President Rashed Khan Menon, JaSaD President Hasanul Haq Inu, Communist Party of Bangladesh (Marxist-Leninist) leader Dilip Barua came to the ceremony as well.

Former minister and victorious independent candidate Abdul Latif Siddique and his brother Krishak Sramik Janata League President Kader Siddique attended as well.

Senior Awami League leaders Amir Hossain Amu, Tofail Ahmed, and Matia Chowdhury were present for the event, as were the prime minister’s uncle Sheikh Kabir Hossain and cousin Sheikh Helal.

Departing members of cabinet included former foreign minister AK Abdul Momen and former expatriate welfare minister Imran Ahmed were in attendance.

Advisors to the prime minister Mashiur Rahman, Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, and Salman F Rahman attended the ceremony.

The US Ambassador Peter Haas, UK High Commissioner Sarah Cook, Russian Ambassador Alexander Montetaski, Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma, and the Chinese Ambassador Yao Wen were among the diplomats present.

Justices, chiefs of the armed forces, prominent lawyers, and senior journalists could be seen among the guests.

After a reading from the Quran, Hasina kissed her sister before stepping onto the stage to take her oath of office.

The new members of the cabinet followed afterwards.

After the oath-taking ceremony, tea and refreshments were made available at the Bangabhaban premises. President Shahabuddin and Prime Minister Hasina made the rounds, stopping to speak with guests.

With the swearing-in of the cabinet, the government sworn in on Jan 7, 2018 is relieved of its duties. The Cabinet Division will announce the portfolios of the cabinet members.

A RECORD FIFTH TERM

Sheikh Hasina was born on Sept 28, 1947 in Gopalganj’s Tungipara, the eldest of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Begum Fazilatunnesa’s five children.

She was involved in politics from her student years and completed her Bachelor’s in Arts degree from Dhaka University in 1973. She was a member of the university’s Chhatra League unit and the general secretary of its Rokeya Hall branch.

In 1968, Hasina married nuclear scientist MA Wazed Miah. On Aug 15, 1975, when Bangabandhu and other members of her family were assassinated at their home in Dhanmondi Road 32, Hasina and her sister Sheikh Hasina were abroad. They lived in exile in London and New Delhi for the next six years.

On May 17, 1981, Sheikh Hasina returned to Bangladesh to elad the Awami League. Within five years, she was elected as leader of the opposition in the government of military dictator HM Ershad.

Under her leadership, the Awami League joined forces with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party to depose Ershad. Hasina lost the subsequent election in 1991, once again becoming the leader of the opposition.

The Awami League won the Jun 12, 1996 general election by a wide margin and formed a government under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina for the first time. Two of the government’s most significant achievements was signing the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord and the Ganges Water Sharing Agreement with India.

In the 2001 election, the BNP-Jamaat alliance defeated the Awami League and Hasina began her third term as leader of the opposition. During the BNP-Jamaat alliance’s tenure, Hasina was targeted in the grenade attack on Aug 21, 2004. Several Awami League leaders and activists lost their lives. Hasina survived, but lost her hearing in one ear.

Like many other politicians, Hasina was arrested after the military-backed caretaker government took power in 2007. But, within the span of two years, she led the Awami League to a landslide victory in the polls on Dec 29, 2008 as part of a Grand Alliance. Thus began her second term as prime minister.

The BNP and its allies boycotted the general election on Jan 5, 2014. The Awami League won an absolute majority in the election with 231 seats in the 10th national parliament.

All registered parties took part in the 11th national parliamentary polls on Dec 30, 2018. The Awami League won 257 seats and formed the government for a third consecutive term.

The BNP boycotted the 2024 general election as it did the one in 2014. Of the 42 registered political parties, 28 took part. The Awami League encouraged its local leaders to run as independents to make the polls more competitive.

On Jan 7, during a largely peaceful vote, the Awami League won 222 seats. Independent candidates won 62, the Jatiya Party 11, the Workers Party and JaSaD – the Awami League’s allies in the 14 Party-Alliance – won one each. The Bangladesh Kalyan Party, previously aligned with the BNP, won one seat.

On Wednesday, 298 parliamentarians were sworn in by the speaker of the house. That day, Sheikh Hasina was picked as the leader of the government at a parliamentary meeting of the Awami League.

Later that day, Hasina visited the president, who officially invited her to form a fourth consecutive government.

The prime minister officially began her fifth term in power on Thursday with the cabinet’s oath-taking ceremony.

With her 20 years as prime minister, Hasina is the longest serving female head of government in a modern democratic system in the world.