On 24 July 1967, it was designated as a gubernatorial residence by Abdul Monem Khan, the Governor of East Pakistan. The palace was used by President Ayub Khan as a retreat when Bangladesh was a part of Pakistan as its eastern wing. After the independence of Bangladesh, Prime Minister Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of the Bangladeshi republic, declared the palace as his official residence in northern Bangladesh on 9 February 1972. It has since been used by successive Bangladeshi heads of government for holding cabinet, political and diplomatic meetings outside the capital.