ABSTRACT
Khaleda Zia became the first woman prime minister in the history of Bangladesh when the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) came to power in 1991. The Awami League (AL) won the general elections in Pakistan in 1970 and formed a government-in-exile that assumed state power in post-independence Bangladesh. In the past 42 years Bangladesh has undergone a variety of systems of governance, from a Westminster-style parliamentary government to one-party presidential rule to a multi-party presidential system. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the head of the government, was an embodiment of the populist leader given his mesmerizing oratory, simple lifestyle, and dedication to an independent Bangladesh. In the summer of 2004 a militant group named Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB) under the leadership of Siddiqur Rahman unleashed a reign of terror in the northwestern district of Rajshahi. Bangladesh has a unicameral parliamentary system. In recent years the phrase Bangladesh Paradox has been used quite frequently in press and policy discourse.
