BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman took oath as the country's 11th Prime Minister on Tuesday, 52 days after returning from exile. He is the first male Prime Minister in 35 years.
Alongside him, 25 ministers and 24 state ministers were sworn in as members of the new Cabinet formed under his leadership.
The ceremony was held at the South Plaza of the Jatiya Sangsad Complex, with President Md Shahabuddin administering the oath of office and oath of secrecy to the Prime Minister, ministers, and state ministers. The event began with a recitation from the Holy Quran.
Tarique Rahman arrived at the ceremony at 3:58 pm, dressed in a white shirt and coat-pants, accompanied by his wife Zubaida Rahman and daughter Zaima Rahman. President Shahabuddin entered the venue a few minutes later at 4:04 pm.
Among the 25 full ministers, nine had previously served as ministers or state ministers during Khaleda Zia's governments, while 16 are first-time ministers. Tarique Rahman himself has never held a ministerial post, served as a state minister, or been a Member of Parliament before. In total, 41 members of the new government are first-time ministers, and none of the 24 state ministers had prior Cabinet experience.
Crowds gathered around the Parliament building since morning to witness the historic ceremony.
Elected BNP MPs, who won the 13th National Parliamentary Election by a landslide, also took oath as members of parliament, though they initially did not take the oath as members of the Constitutional Reform Council.
BNP Standing Committee Member Salauddin Ahmed said the party is adhering to the constitution and will continue to do so in the future. Meanwhile, Jamaat-e-Islami and its alliance partner NCP initially refrained from taking the oath as members of the Constitutional Reform Council. NCP spokesperson Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan posted on Facebook that the 11-party alliance would not take the oath, but they later took the oath as MPs and members of the Council.
The ceremony was attended by many important guests, including the Chief Justice, Chief Election Commissioner, Supreme Court judges, MPs, political leaders, service chiefs, diplomats, journalists, and senior officials.
According to the official gazette, results of 297 seats in the 13th parliamentary election have been published: BNP won 209 seats, Jamaat-e-Islami 68, and the remaining seats were claimed by other parties and independents. About 150 newly elected MPs had never been elected before.
The historic swearing-in marks the return of BNP to power after nearly two decades, with a Cabinet featuring a mix of experienced leaders and a large contingent of first-time ministers, signaling a new chapter in Bangladesh's political landscape.
