Ms Hasina was first elected to power in 1996, having endeared herself to voters with a water-sharing deal with India and a peace deal with tribal insurgents in the south-east of the country. But just five years later she lost her title to her former ally, Begum Khaleda Zia of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), amid criticisms of alleged corrupt business deals and for being too subservient to India.
A bitter rivalry followed, which observers say has resulted in bus bombs, disappearances and extrajudicial killings. Ms Hasina herself endured numerous arrests while in opposition, along with several assassination attempts.
In 2009, she regained power, which she firmly held onto for 15 years, making her among the world’s longest-serving female heads of government.
Hasina’s rule and fall from power
The Muslim-majority nation of 170 million, once one of the world’s poorest countries, has become considerably richer under Ms Hasina’s leadership.
Aided by a booming garment industry, Bangladesh is now one of the fastest-growing economies in the region, even surpassing neighbouring India.
Its per capita income has tripled in the last decade and the World Bank estimates that more than 25 million people have been lifted out of poverty in the last 20 years.