Who is Tarique Rehman, the 'Dark Prince' who rose to power after 17-year exile?

Tarique Rahman is poised to become Bangladesh's next Prime Minister after the Bangladesh ist Party surged towards a decisive victory in Thursday's national election.

Results cited by The Daily Star and the party said Rahman, 60, won from both Dhaka-17 and Bogura-6 constituencies. His return to frontline politics comes after more than 17 years in exile in the United Kingdom.

Various media projections indicated that the BNP secured over 151 seats in the 300-member parliament in yesterday's daylong polling, comfortably crossing the majority mark to form the next government and bringing the 18-month interim administration led by Muhammad Yunus to a close.

WHO IS TARIQUE REHMAN?

Born on November 20, 1965, Tarique Rahman is the eldest son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and former President Ziaur Rahman, the founder of the BNP. He was 15 when his father was assassinated in 1981.

During the 1971 Liberation War, Rahman was briefly detained as a child, an episode later described by his party as making him one of the youngest prisoners of war, according to news agency AFP.

He formally entered politics in 1988, joining the BNP at the upazila level in Bogra. Over the years, he climbed steadily through the party ranks, becoming senior joint secretary general and later acting chairman after Khaleda Zia's imprisonment in 2018 and her declining health kept her away from active politics.

Within party circles, Rahman was widely seen as the natural successor to the Zia political legacy.

THE 'DARK PRINCE' YEARS

Rahman earned the nickname "Dark Prince" during the BNP-led coalition government between 2001 and 2006, when the party governed alongside Jamaat-e-Islami. Though Khaleda Zia was prime minister, critics and political observers often described Rahman as the de facto power centre during that period.

In May 2007, Rahman was arrested by a caretaker government and detained for 17 months on multiple charges. He was later convicted in absentia in several cases, including money laundering and in a case linked to an alleged plot to assassinate then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Rahman consistently maintained that the charges were politically motivated. He moved to London for medical treatment after alleging torture in custody.

Under Sheikh Hasina's 15-year rule, courts handed down multiple convictions against him on corruption and terrorism-related charges. His supporters insisted the cases were part of a political crackdown on the opposition.

NEW DAWN

The legal landscape shifted dramatically after Sheikh Hasina was removed from power in August 2024 following a student-led uprising. Subsequent court rulings overturned Rahman's earlier convictions, clearing the way for his return.

He came back to Bangladesh in December 2025, months after mass protests toppled the Hasina government. With the BNP now heading for a sweeping electoral win, the man once sidelined by jail and exile is all set to take the country's top office.

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