Rahman Becomes the Third President to Die in Office

Rahman Becomes the Third President to Die in Office

Daily protests broke out in Dhaka in February 2013 after the leader of Jamaat-e-Islami, the largest Islamist party in Bangladesh, was sentenced to life in prison by a war crimes tribunal for his role in the murder of an estimated one million Bengalis during the 1971 war with Pakistan. The demonstrators, mostly students and youth, were outraged at what they consider a lenient sentence.

On March 10, 2013, President Zillur Rahman was flown to Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore. He had a lung infection and the situation was so dire he had to be flown by air ambulance. Rahman died ten days later, becoming the third president of Bangladesh to die in office. Former Presidents Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Ziaur Rahman also died in office.

Abdul Hamid, speaker of the National Parliament, was appointed acting president on March 14, 2013. Of President Rahman's death, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said that it was "an irreparable loss to the country and its people."