WAJED Hasina
Prime Minister of Bangladesh
Sheikh Hasina Wajed came to power in December 2008 with an overwhelming majority - her second stint as prime minister. Her campaign vowed to build a "Digital Bangladesh" by 2021.
The daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the first president of Bangladesh, her political life started as a student activist in the 1960s.But when her father, mother and three brothers were assassinated in a military coup d'etat in1975, she went into exile. She returned to her country in 1981 when she was elected as leader of the Bangladeshi Awami League. Helping to lead the fight against military rule, she spent much of the next decade in and out of prisons.
Following Bangladesh's first democratic elections in 1991, her party continued to push for electoral reform, organising strikes and protests. She first became prime minister in 1996 and attempted to create greater unity in national politics, improve relations with India and quell tribal rebels. However, her government was blamed for the corruption that remained rife in Bangladeshi public life and she lost power in 2001.
In the following years, she again faced legal charges, forced exile and violence, none of which have deterred her from her self-stated mission to push her country's development, establish democracy and fight corruption.
Hasina is a member of the council of women world leaders, a network pushing for action on women's development.
