Bangladesh President Resigns from Office for Health Reasons

The office of Bangladesh’s President Mohammed Shahabuddin, a former ally of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, announced on Friday that he had resigned from his post due to serious health problems.

Shahabuddin, 76, has served as president since April 2023, a largely ceremonial position in Bangladesh. His tenure has been marked by unrest following Hasina’s flight to India in the wake of a student-led uprising that toppled her government in 2024.

In a statement issued by the presidential spokesperson, Shahabuddin said, “Recent medical examinations have shown that I suffer from a condition known as autonomic neuropathy. As a result of this condition, I sometimes experience temporary loss of consciousness.”

Shahabuddin’s resignation leaves Hasina without allies in senior positions, five months before her anticipated return. Her party, the Awami League, has been banned, and many of its leaders and activists have been imprisoned or forced into hiding since the student-led uprising that resulted in her ouster in 2024.

As head of state, Shahabuddin serves as the supreme commander of the armed forces, but executive power lies with the prime minister and the government in this country of 173 million people, the majority of whom are Muslim.

Reuters reported on Thursday that Shahabuddin would resign on Friday.