page_title: Ziaur Rahman
hierarchical_section_title: Ziaur Rahman
caption_attribution_description: Nederlands: Aankomst op Schiphol; Hare Majesteit en president Ziaur Rahmanবাংলা: রাষ্ট্রপতি জিয়াউর রহমানের নেদারল্যান্ডসের শিপহলে আগমন
context_page_description: Ziaur Rahman, was the Chief of Army Staff, who served the President of Bangladesh during 1977–1981. He was assassinated on 30 May 1981 in Chittagong in an army coup d'état.
  Rahman was a Bangladesh Forces Commander of BDF Sector BDF Sector 1 initially, and from June as BDF commander of BDF Sector 11 of the Bangladesh Forces and the Brigade Commander of Z Force from mid-July during the country's Independence war from Pakistan in 1971. He originally broadcast the Bangladesh declaration of independence on 27 March from Kalurghat radio station in Chittagong. After the war of Independence, Rahman became a brigade commander in Bangladesh Army, later the deputy chief of staff and Chief of staff of Bangladesh Army. His ascent to leadership of the country resulted from a conspiracy that had begun with the killing of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding president of Bangladesh, in a military coup d'état followed by a coups and counter-revolt within the military to gain control at the helm.
  Ziaur Rahman gained de facto power as head of the government already under martial law imposed by the Mushtaq government. He took over the presidency in 1977.
context_section_description: Ziaur Rahman ([ji-yaur rôhman]; 19 January 1936 – 30 May 1981), was the Chief of Army Staff, who served the President of Bangladesh during 1977–1981. He was assassinated on 30 May 1981 in Chittagong in an army coup d'état.
  Rahman was a Bangladesh Forces Commander of BDF Sector BDF Sector 1 initially, and from June as BDF commander of BDF Sector 11 of the Bangladesh Forces and the Brigade Commander of Z Force from mid-July during the country's Independence war from Pakistan in 1971. He originally broadcast the Bangladesh declaration of independence on 27 March from Kalurghat radio station in Chittagong.  After the war of Independence, Rahman became a brigade commander in Bangladesh Army, later the deputy chief of staff and Chief of staff of Bangladesh Army. His ascent to leadership of the country resulted from a conspiracy that had begun with the killing of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding president of Bangladesh, in a military coup d'état followed by a coups and counter-revolt within the military to gain control at the helm.
  Ziaur Rahman gained de facto power as head of the government already under martial law imposed by the Mushtaq government. He took over the presidency in 1977.
  As President in 1978, Rahman founded the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (popularly known by its abbreviation BNP). He reinstated multi-party politics, freedom of the press, free speech and free markets and accountability. He initiated mass irrigation and food production programmes, including social programmes to uplift the lives of the people. He initiated and founded the first Asian regional group known as SAARC. He improved Bangladesh's relations with the West and China, and departed from Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's close alignment with India and the Soviet Union. Domestically, Rahman faced as many as twenty-one coup attempts for which trials were setup and many soldiers and officers of the Bangladesh Armed Forces were executed which were mostly claimed to be biased and false trials. He was criticised for passing the Indemnity Act and removing the ban on religion-based political parties.
  Rahman was awarded two  gallantry awards for two wars fought in South Asia. Hilal-i-Jurat for the Indo-Pak War in 1965, and Bir Uttom in 1972 for the Bangladesh Independence war 1971 for his wartime contributions.
  According to the 1986 book Bangladesh: A Legacy of Blood written by Anthony Mascarenhas, Rahman retired from the Bangladesh Army as a Lt. General (promoted by himself) in 1978 with effect from 28 April.
  The political party he formed in 1978, the BNP, became one of the two dominant political parties of Bangladesh. His wife Khaleda Zia, a former prime minister, is the current chairperson of the BNP.
caption: Rahman in 1979 in the Netherlands
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