Bangladesh Nationalist Party – BNP was founded on September 1, 1978 on the basis of Bangladeshi Nationalism, an ideology that recognizes the right of Bangladeshis from all walks of life, irrespective of their ethnicity, gender or race.

Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman Bir Uttam, the most celebrated war hero of 1971 liberation war, is the founder of the party

September 1, 1978 BNP Formed: Freedom fighters led by Ziaur Rahman forms BNP

1979 2nd general election: BNP Wins 207 of the 300 Seats in the Parliament 

1981 Zia's Assassination: Abdus Sattar became head after President Zia's assassination

1984 New Chairperson of BNP: Begum Khaleda Zia got elected as the Chairperson of BNP

1986 Movement for Democracy: Begum Khaleda Zia declared all-out movement for democracy

1990 Begum Khaleda Zia Led Movement: Begum Khaleda Zia led movement to oust autocrat Ershad from power

1991 First Female Prime Minister of Bangladesh: Begum Khaleda Zia became the first elected female Prime Minister of Bangladesh

1996 Begum Khaleda Zia Won Second Term: Begum Khaleda Zia won second term, but decided to run for re-election under caretaker govt.

1996: BNP Won 116 Seats: BNP won 116 seats, highest by any opposition party in Bangladesh, in fresh election

2001 Elected as Prime Minister Third Time: Begum Khaleda Zia got elected as the Prime Minister for the third time. 

2008 Begum Khaleda Zia Became Opposition Leader: BNP lost an engineered election, Begum Khaleda Zia became the Leader of Opposition

2009 New Senior Vice-Chairman of BNP: Tarique Rahman was unanimously elected as the Senior Vice-Chairman of BNP

2014 BNP Boycotted National Election: BNP boycotted national election along with other democratic parties due to autocratic election administration

2018 Acting Chairman of BNP: Tarique Rahman assumed Acting Chairman's role in the absence of Chairperson Begum Zia

2023 BNP Declares One-Point Demand: BNP declares one-point demand highlighting resignation of the fascist, authoritarian and illegal Awami League government. 

2024 Fall of Dictator: People Celebrate fall of Awami League’s autocratic rule, student-led public uprising that ousted Dictator Sheikh Hasina which is an ultimate result of BNP’s one-point demand for the resignation of the fascist, authoritarian and illegal Awami regime. BNP supports formation of Interim Government led by Nobel Peace Laureate Professor Dr Muhammad Yunus.

2025 Tarique Rahman, Acting Chairman of BNP: A long way to go to build robust and strong democracy in Bangladesh. He called on the nation to embrace principles of equality, dignity and justice as Bangladesh prepares to embark on a transformative journey in 2025.