Sheikh Hasina, Bangladeshi politician, 10th Prime Minister of Bangladesh
Sheikh Hasina Wazed (née Sheikh Hasina ; SHEKH ha-si-na; Bengali: শেখ হাসিনা ওয়াজেদ, romanized: Shēkh Hasinā, [ˈʃekʰ ɦɐsina] Sylheti: ꠡꠦꠈ ꠢꠣꠍꠤꠘꠣ ꠅꠀꠎꠦꠖ), born 28 September 1947, is a Bangladeshi politician who has been serving as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh since January 2009. Hasina is the daughter of Bangladesh's Founding Father and first president, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and the eldest of his five children. She previously served as prime minister from June 1996 to July 2001. She is the longest serving prime minister in the history of Bangladesh, having served for a combined total of over 18 years. She is the longest serving female head of government in the world.

Hasina was born on September 28, 1947, in Tungipara, Bangladesh. In 1968, She graduated from the University of Dhaka in 1973. Scion of a political family, she was actively involved in student politics in her college days. She was elected as the chief of the Student's Union of Eden Girls' College, the leading women's college in Bangladesh. She was a member of the student's league (Chhatra League) of Dhaka University and the secretary of the Chattra League in Rokeya Hall. She was also the president of Eden Intermediate Girls College Chattra League. Hasina actively participated in the 1969 Mass uprising and at the time of the Bangladesh Liberation War, she was imprisoned by the Pakistani occupation army along with her husband, mother, sister and brother.

On August 15, 1975, army officers assassinated the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Hasina's father, along with members of her family. Hasina and Sheikh Rehana, her younger sister, were the only survivors as they were in West Germany at the time.

In 1981, while forced to live in exile, Hasina was unanimously elected the president of the Awami League. Ending six years in exile, she returned home to Bangladesh on May 17, 1981. In 1982, Hasina was the first to raise the voice of protest against the assumption of state-power through military coups d'etat, which brought Lt. Gen. Hussain Muhammad Ershad to power. Following, she had to suffer confinement time and again. In 1984, she was put under house arrest in February and then again in November. In March 1985, she was put under house arrest for three months.

Hasina won three seats in the 1986 parliamentary election. Commanding the support of 104 elected members belonging to her party, Hasina became leader of the opposition in parliament. In 1996, the Awami League returned to power in Bangladesh after many years in the opposition. Under her leadership, the Awami League government was the first government to complete a full 5 year tenure. In 2001, the Awami League lost the majority in the election and once again became the largest opposition party.

In 2003, the Awami League started its first major Anti-government movement. The party's general secretary, Abdul Jalil, declared that the government would fall before April 2004. The fall occurred and was a blow to the party. The second term in opposition, Hasina encountered grenade attacks and assassination attempts. Under her leadership, her party, Bangladesh Awami League, won a landslide victory in the 9th Parliament Election on December 19, 2008, with 262 seats out of 299 in the National Parliament. Hasina took the oath as prime minister of Bangladesh on January 6, 2009.

In 2014, she was re-elected for a third term in an election that was boycotted by the BNP and criticized by international observers. She won a fourth term in 2018, following an election marred with violence and criticized by the opposition as being rigged.

Hasina has been considered one of the most powerful women in the world, ranking 39th on Forbes magazine's list of The World's 100 Most Powerful Women in 2020, 26th in 2018, and 30th in 2017. She has also made a list of "top 100 Global Thinkers" of the present decade. Hasina is a member of the Council of Women World Leaders, an international network of current and former female presidents and prime ministers. She was included in Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World of 2018. Reporters Without Borders in 2021 characterized Hasina as a predator for curbing press freedom in Bangladesh since 2014.