Tarique Rahman was sworn in as Bangladesh’s 11th prime minister with a 49-member cabinet, five days after his Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) won power in the first elections since the student-led uprising in 2024.
The ministers also include Nurul Haque Noor, a first-time parliamentarian prominent in the uprising that ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and Zonaid Abdul Rahim Saki (also known as Zonaid Saki).
Nuru, who shot to fame in the wake of the 2018 anti-employment quota movement, and Psaki, a popular leftist leader, are not from the BNP, which returned to power for the first time in 20 years.
Rahman, the son of late former prime minister Khaleda Zia, was sworn in as the South Asian nation’s chief executive on Tuesday after 17 years in self-imposed exile in London.
Who is Nurul Haq Noor?
Noor, who comes from a lower-middle-class family in the remote Patuakhali district of southern Bangladesh, was elected to parliament in Thursday’s election. The 34-year-old won the constituency as a candidate of the BNP-backed Gono Odhikar Parishad Party.
He first rose to national prominence as a student leader at Dhaka University during the 2018 Anti-Quota Movement, leading demonstrations against Hasina’s Awami League government.
Students and young people across Bangladesh protested demanding reforms to the traditional employment quota system, under which more than half of sought-after government jobs were reserved. Protesters accused the Awami League government of using a quota system to reward supporters.
The Hasina government was forced to abolish the quota system in 2018. However, in June 2024, a court reinstated the quota system, sparking protests that quickly turned into broader demands for the removal of Hasina’s “authoritarian” regime. Hasina’s 15-point rule was marked by widespread human rights violations and repression of opposition.
Nour supported the student-led uprising and was a key mobilizer in the July 2024 revolution.
He co-founded the Gono Odhikar Parishad, a rights-oriented political party, and positioned himself as part of a youth-led opposition movement in Bangladeshi politics. However, the party has repeatedly experienced internal rifts and defections.
After Hasina took power in 2024, Noor moved closer to the BNP-led bloc on reforms and governance policies.
Who is Zoneido Saki?
Psaki became involved in politics as a student activist during the movement against General Hussein Ershad, who ruled Bangladesh from 1982 to 1990.
The 52-year-old was elected president of the Bangladesh Students’ Federation, a progressive student organization, in 1998.
Psaki is a co-convener of Ganosanhati Andhra (People’s Solidarity Movement), a progressive party that emerged in the late 2000s. He is a representative figure of the left in Bangladeshi politics.
He ran for mayor of Dhaka North Municipal Corporation in 2015 but lost. Sakhi participated in the 2018 Bangladesh general election from the Dhaka constituency, but was not elected.
This time, he won in Brahmanbaria 6th constituency by a margin of 55,000 votes.
“All parties in the anti-authoritarian movement must continue to unite in the national interest and respect democratic norms,” Psaki told supporters after his election victory. He thanked the BNP leadership for their support.
Why were they appointed to the cabinet?
Like the new parliament, Rahman’s cabinet does not have much governing experience. All of his junior ministers, including Nuru and Psaki, are first-time ministers.
Bangladeshi political analysts said the appointments of Psaki and Nur were not unexpected and reflected the BNP’s commitment to its alliance partners.
“Both parties represent parties that were alliance partners of the BNP,” said Asif Shahan, a professor at Dhaka University. “The key is to reward our alliance partners.”
At the same time, Shahan told Al Jazeera that both leaders are also “key players in the July presidential election.” [2024] It has a long history of rebelling and fighting the last rebellion. [Hasina’s] dictatorship. ”
Shahan said his cabinet appointment was “in recognition of his contribution to the July uprising.”
Being junior ministers means that whatever ministries Nuru and Psaki are assigned to in the future, their powers will be limited. “The BNP bench is very strong and has full ministerial positions.” [for Nur or Saki] “If that happens, he will have to dismiss senior party officials. Rahman needed to strike a balance,” Shahan said.
What happened to the student leaders of the 2024 uprising?
The National Civic Party (NCP), a political party led by student leaders of the July 2024 uprising, has formed an alliance with the conservative Jamaat-e-Islami party.
It did not become a hot topic during the first election test. The NCP secured only six of the 30 seats it contested. Its leader, Nahid Islam, 27, won and became one of the youngest members of the new parliament.
Now it has become part of the conflict with Jamaat and a new arena for both sides.
