Tarique Rehman was born on 20 November 1965 in the Combined Military Hospital at Dacca Cantonment of East Pakistan, Pakistan (now in Dhaka Division, Bangladesh).
He belonged to a notable Bengali Muslim political family of Mandals hailing from Bagbari in Gabtali, Bogra. His father, Ziaur Rahman, was a Pakistani military officer who would later become a Bir Uttom recipient and the president of Bangladesh.
Rahman started his education at BAF Shaheen College Dhaka. From there, he completed his secondary and higher secondary education and was admitted to the Department of International Relations at the University of Dhaka in 1984. However, during his second year of graduation, he ended his university career and started a business in the textile industry and shipping sector.
Rahman started his political career as a primary member of the upazila branch of the BNP Gabtali, Bogra, in 1988. During that period, he proactively organized the party units of Bogra and changed the inherent cultures to make politics more production and development oriented.
Rahman was a member of the BNP’s National Campaign Strategy Committee and was also responsible for coordinating the national election campaigns in five constituencies in which his mother, Khaleda Zia, was running. Rahman actively assembled support for the party during the 1991 national election, when the transition was taking place from military government to the elected government.
In November 2018, Rahman conducted the interview process through Skype for the nomination seekers of BNP at the 2018 national election. After the fall of Sheikh Hasina, Tarique pledged to return to Bangladesh after the cases against him were lifted. He also pledged to support the reform process of the interim government.
On 13 June 2025, a private meeting was held between Tarique and the chief adviser of the interim government, Muhammad Yunus, who was on a visit to the United Kingdom. After the meeting, the representatives of both sides issued a joint statement. The meeting was cited as a “turning point” by the BNP sources.
On 25 December 2025, Tarique Rahman, along with his wife Zubaida Rahman and daughter Zaima Rahman, returned to Bangladesh, ending his exile since 2008, and now it is possible to take charge of BNP as the full chairman of the party.
Read also:Bangladesh Elections 2026: BNP sweeps, Tariq Rahman named new PM
