Bangladesh President resigns, citing illness - Hasina arrives in December

Mr. Mohammed Shahabuddin, 76, who served as the 22nd President of Bangladesh, has resigned from his post on July 24, 2026, halfway through his five-year term. A close political confidant of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, he handed over his signed resignation letter to Parliament Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed (Major Hafiz Uddin Ahmed, Bir Bikrom), who had returned early from medical treatment in Thailand.

According to the Constitution of Bangladesh, the resignation becomes effective immediately upon the submission of this letter, and the Speaker of Parliament will serve as the acting president until a new president is elected within the next 90 days.

Mr. Shahabuddin has officially stated that he made this decision due to several serious health issues he is facing. These include heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, kidney ailments, a past bypass surgery, and recent neurological disorders causing episodes of unconsciousness. However, severe political pressure from the current government led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman also significantly influenced this resignation. This political pressure intensified following the announcement by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who resides in India, that she would return to Bangladesh in December 2026 to surrender to a court ruling against her, leveraging her long-standing relationship with Shahabuddin.

Mr. Shahabuddin, also known as 'Chuppu', was born on December 10, 1949, in Pabna District, then part of East Pakistan. He was a freedom fighter who actively participated in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War through the 'Mujib Bahini' organization. He served as a leader of the 'Chhatra League', the student wing of the Awami League, and held various positions in the party's youth and peasant-worker organizations. After the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1975, he was imprisoned for three years. He later worked as a journalist and joined the judiciary as a civil judge in 1982. He was promoted to District and High Court Judge and also served as a Commissioner of the Anti-Corruption Commission from 2011 to 2016. He chaired the inquiry commission into the violence against Awami League activists after the 2001 elections and contributed to the coordination of the trials of Mujib's assassins.

Mr. Shahabuddin, who was elected unopposed on the Awami League's nomination in February 2023, was sworn in as the 22nd President of Bangladesh on April 24, 2023. His term was scheduled to last until April 2028. During his presidency, he had to administer the oath of office to three successive governments: Sheikh Hasina's government, Muhammad Yunus's interim administration (August 2024 - February 2026), and Tarique Rahman's government after the February 2026 election, which is a unique event in Bangladesh's political history.

Sheikh Hasina was forced to step down from power on August 5, 2024, after student protests against the job quota system escalated into a nationwide popular uprising. According to United Nations reports, nearly 1,400 people died, and Hasina fled to India. Subsequently, her Awami League party was banned, and many leaders were imprisoned. An interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus governed until the parliamentary election held on February 12, 2026. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by Tarique Rahman, son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, achieved a landslide victory, and Rahman was sworn in as Prime Minister on February 17, 2026.

In November 2025, a Bangladeshi court sentenced Hasina to death in absentia for ordering the use of lethal force against protesters during the 2024 crackdown. She rejected the charges, stating that the verdict was illegal and politically motivated. In interviews held in June and July 2026, she declared that she was not afraid of death and would return in December with senior party colleagues to surrender to the court. Prior to this, Shahabuddin had indicated in December 2025 that he felt humiliated by Yunus's interim government and had planned to resign after the February 2026 election, but he remained in office until the pressure mounted following Hasina's announcement of her return.

With Shahabuddin's departure, the last senior constitutional official closely associated with the former Awami League government has also left office. The role of the President, serving as both head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces, became practically significant after the 2024 power vacuum. Currently, Parliament Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed, a BNP Member of Parliament, a Liberation War hero (Bir Bikrom), former footballer, and military officer, is serving as acting president. A new president must be elected within 90 days, and this resignation will allow the Rahman government to consolidate its power in Bangladesh, a major garment exporter with a population of 173 million, before Hasina's return.