Khaleda Zia, first female Bangladeshi prime minister, passed away at 80

Bangladesh’s former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia, widely seen as a strong contender to return to power in next year’s elections, has passed away at the age of 80 following a prolonged illness. She died at 6 am on Tuesday while undergoing treatment at Evercare Hospital in Dhaka, according to a statement from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).

The BNP chairperson had been hospitalized for the past 36 days after being admitted on November 23 with heart and lung infections. She was also suffering from pneumonia, the Bangladeshi daily The Daily Star reported.

Khaleda Zia became Bangladesh’s first woman prime minister in 1991 after guiding her party to victory in the nation’s first democratic elections in two decades.