Bangladeshi Leaders Stats

Sheikh Hasina was sworn in for a third term as prime minister in January 2014 after a deadly general election boycotted by the opposition amid an ongoing political crisis.

Her Awami League party won a clear majority in the poll, but many seats were not contested by the opposition who had demanded that a neutral caretaker government oversee the vote.

The international community called for a re-run of the election amid fears of more violence.

The opposition, led by two-times former prime minister and arch enemy Khaleda Zia, called for a blockade of roads, rail and waterways to try to topple the government. Her Bangladesh Nationalist Party dismissed the new government as a farce just like the "farcical elections".

Rivalry

Politics in Bangladesh has long been dominated by the bitter rivalry between the two women.

Sheikh Hasina was previously prime minister from 1996 to 2001, while Khaleda Zia was in power between 1991 and 1996 and again from 2001 to October 2006, when she handed over power to a caretaker administration ahead of elections.

The hostility between the women stems in part from differences over who played a greater role in the country's independence struggle - Hasina's father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, or Khaleda's husband, General Ziaur Rahman.

Khaleda and Hasina sank their differences when military ruler Hossain Mohammad Ershad was in power from 1982 to 1990, but their alliance ended with Ershad's departure and they have been uncompromising rivals ever since.