Khaleda Zia: A political leader who listened, questioned and decided in the national interest

I express my profound sorrow at the passing of national leader Khaleda Zia. She has left us at a moment when the nation perhaps needed her guidance the most. It now falls upon us to collectively address the challenges she would have wanted us to confront with courage and responsibility.

I had four direct encounters with Prime Minister Khaleda Zia during my professional life, each of which left a lasting impression on me about her as a political leader who appreciated ideas and valued informed decision-making.

Economic Association's conference

My first interaction with her dates back to January 1991, soon after the fall of the Ershad regime, when Zia attended the Bangladesh Economic Association (BEA) Conference as the chief guest. At the time, I was the association's general secretary. 

In my opening remarks, I noted that we had deliberately refrained from inviting the immediate past head of government, and that we were now pleased to welcome Khaleda Zia as the country's democratically elected prime minister. 

She took note of this statement and later asked me about the reason behind our position. I explained our commitment to democratic values and their intrinsic link to development. She listened attentively and responded with quiet appreciation.

Bank reform committee

My second interaction came in the second half of the 1990s, when I served on the Bank Reform Committee (1993-1994) headed by Professor Wahiduddin Mahmud, being appointed by the late lamented finance minister Saifur Rahman. 

At the time, we were grappling with politically sensitive amendments to the Banking Companies Act, particularly those limiting the role, tenure and family dominance of sponsor directors. Getting an opportunity on an unrelated occasion, I gathered the courage to raise these concerns with Khaleda Zia. 

She simply said, "Please do whatever you think is necessary." That clear and principled guidance reflected her trust in technical judgment as well as her understanding of the country's political economy.

WTO delegation

The third incident, though it concerned me, I was not present on the occasion. I have found the occurrence quite instructive. In October 2001, when she assumed office for the third time, preparations were underway for the WTO Ministerial Conference in Doha scheduled for November 2001. A national delegation was being formed under the leadership of the then commerce minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury.

When the Commerce Ministry submitted the proposed list of delegation, my name was struck off - apparently for political reasons - by a high-profile official of the Prime Minister's Office. 

Just before the Doha meeting, the trade and industry leaders of the country went to meet the newly elected prime minister, Khaleda Zia. 

As I look to the future, I sincerely hope that Bangladesh's next generation of leaders will learn from her example — how a political leader can make the best possible use of policy advisers, how complex technical inputs can be translated into sound political decisions, and how leadership can rise above narrow considerations in moments that matter most.

Taking advantage of the meeting, several highly respected business leaders, including the president of International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), Mr. Mahbubur Rahman and the late Latifur Rahman of Transcom Group, approached the Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, in the presence of the Commerce Minister, and mentioned that my participation in the national delegation is necessary for carrying out effective trade negotiations on behalf of the least developed countries — a group which was then led by Bangladesh.

Khaleda Zia's response, as it was conveyed to me later by Mr C.K. Hyder, the then Secretary General, Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industries (MCCI)  was that the nation-building process requires the contribution of everyone and that exclusion on perceived political grounds makes little sense. 

Thus, my name was reinstated in the official delegation list, and I accompanied Mr Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury to Doha, where we participated in the WTO negotiations. The episode left a lasting impression on me — I came to appreciate Khaleda Zia's ability, at critical moments, to rise above narrow partisan considerations (often promoted by politically appointed officials) in the national interest.

Gas utilisation committee

My final and most substantive interaction with Prime Minister Khaleda Zia came in 2002, during a briefing to a high-powered cabinet committee by certain members of the National Committee on Utilisation of Gas Reserves. The issue which was being hotly debated at that time was whether Bangladesh should export gas to India. Indeed, certain international oil companies were propagating that Bangladesh is "floating on gas" and it would be well advised to swiftly extract it and export to the Indian market. Sheikh Hasina, at that time, popularised a narrative saying that Bangladesh could safely export gas after keeping reserves for 50 years.

When I began my presentation, Khaleda Zia surprised me with her very first question: "You are telling me that we do not have enough gas for the next 50 years?" I was struck by the sharpness of the query. I replied candidly, "Madam Prime Minister, we do not currently have proven reserves for 50 years. Gas availability is a moving frontier – if exploration continues, we may sustain for 50 years. But we most possibly will not have a guaranteed reserve for 50 years at a point in time".

She immediately followed up, "Then how do we expand exploration?" I explained that for sustained investment, Bangladesh would need to strengthen the capacity of our national institution, BAPEX and invite foreign companies, particularly for offshore and deep-sea blocks. 

She grasped the point quickly and then put forward another crucial question: "How much money will we actually earn from gas exports?" I told her the truth. The projected earnings were not significant - roughly equivalent to two or three days' worth of remittance income. I added that even under a "right of first refusal" provision, Bangladesh would still need the gas domestically and had the economic capacity to absorb it.

At that stage, the then finance minister Saifur Rahman intervened, and I further explained that exporting gas through cross-border pipelines carried serious security risks, including the possibility of sabotage. These were not hypothetical concerns.

Khaleda Zia understood the implications immediately. Senior ministers Saifur Rahman, Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, and others present at the meeting reached the same conclusion. That discussion proved to be a turning point.

Looking back, I take some pride in having been part of that critical meeting — one that helped halt gas exports to India and elsewhere at a time when the long-term energy security of Bangladesh was at stake.

A political leader with policy perspectives

Taken together, these four episodes — 1991, 1996, 2001 and 2002 — span different moments of my professional life and different phases of Khaleda Zia's political leadership. One of them involved me only indirectly, but all of them left a lasting imprint. From these encounters, I draw three clear observations about her as a political leader.

First, she listened — carefully and attentively — to technical advice. She was genuinely interested in understanding the substance of complex policy issues, whether they concerned banking reform, trade negotiations, or energy security. For policy professionals like us, that willingness to listen was invaluable.

Second, she asked logical and probing questions to clarify issues. Her questions were not rhetorical or political posturing; they were aimed at testing assumptions, exposing gaps, and understanding consequences. This ability to interrogate technical inputs with clarity helped bridge the gap between expert analysis and political judgment.

Third, and perhaps most importantly, she made decisions by interpreting technical advice through a political lens. She understood that policy choices are never purely technical — they must ultimately be aligned with national priorities, political realities, and long-term public interest.

These are classical yet rare qualities of effective political leadership — qualities that policy analysts grounded in empirical work always hope to find in those who hold executive power.

The success of this model of leadership was best exemplified by the partnership between Khaleda Zia and Saifur Rahman. Whether it was the introduction of VAT in 1992 or the adoption of a flexible exchange rate regime in 2003, their collaboration reflected mutual respect between political authority and technical competence. The regard she consistently showed for Saifur Rahman spoke volumes about her generosity of spirit and her appreciation of professional expertise.

As I look to the future, I sincerely hope that Bangladesh's next generation of leaders will learn from her example — how a political leader can make the best possible use of policy advisers, how complex technical inputs can be translated into sound political decisions, and how leadership can rise above narrow considerations in moments that matter most.

In times like these, Khaleda Zia will be deeply missed.