Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin, long-time ally of Sheikh Hasina, resigns

Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin, a long-time ally of deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, resigned on Friday (July 24, 2026), citing health complications, two years ahead of the end of his tenure.

In his resignation letter addressed to Parliament Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed, the 76-year-old leader said he is “seriously ill” and suffering from heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and kidney complications.

“Recently, medical tests detected a disease called Autonomic Neuropathy. Due to this illness, I sometimes lose consciousness briefly. Because of the prevalence of these diseases, I am physically and mentally incapable of discharging the responsibilities of such an important constitutional post of President,” he wrote in his resignation letter.

Speaker Ahmed, who cut short his visit to Bangkok where he was undergoing medical treatment and returned to Dhaka on Friday (July 24), said he accepted the President’s resignation.

Mr. Ahmed would serve as Acting President in accordance with the Bangladesh Constitution until a new President is elected.

Mr. Shahabuddin’s resignation comes amid speculations that Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s government was uncomfortable with the largely titular head of the State, according to media reports.

A 1971 Liberation War veteran and former lower judiciary judge, Mr. Shahabuddin had taken the oath in April 2023 for a five-year term.

He was elected to the highest office by the previous parliament and was the only person still holding his constitutional position, long after the violent July-August 2024 student-led street protest that toppled Ms. Hasina’s Awami League government.

Ms. Hasina fled to India and has been living there since August 5, 2024.

Mr. Shahabuddin’s departure comes days after the deposed premier announced she was preparing to return home by December despite a pending death sentence, causing a political uproar in Bangladesh.

Some reports claimed that Mr. Shahabuddin recently contacted Ms. Hasina over the phone, disappointing the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s top leadership.

In an interview with The Daily Star on Thursday (July 23) evening, Mr. Shahabuddin dismissed the reports as “baseless.” He was the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, though the role was largely ceremonial with executive power resting with the Prime Minister.

But Mr. Shahabuddin’s position gained prominence when the 2024 violence toppled Ms. Hasina’s government and the interim regime mounted pressure on him to quit.

Two months ahead of the February 12 elections that ended Muhammad Yunus’ 18-month rule, Mr. Shahabuddin told the media he was “humiliated” by the interim government, which also removed his portraits from Bangladeshi embassies abroad.

At that time, he said he received “100% support” from the BNP while the Army, along with Navy and Air Force chiefs, firmly stood by him.

In a December 2025 interview, he expressed his desire to resign after fulfilling his constitutional duty to hold the February elections.