Government of Bangladesh


The Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh was constituted by the Constitution of Bangladesh comprising the executive, the legislature, and the judiciary. Bangladesh is a unitary state and the central government has the authority to govern over the entirety of the nation. The seat of the government is located in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh.
The executive government is led by the prime minister, who selects all the remaining ministers. The prime minister and the other most senior ministers belong to the supreme decision-making committee, known as the Cabinet. After the Resignation of Sheikh Hasina in August 2024, the current Interim government is led by Muhammad Yunus as chief adviser.

Head of state

The President serves as the head of state, primarily performing ceremonial duties, while the Prime Minister, as the head of government, holds actual executive authority. The President is also the Commander-in-Chief of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. The President is elected by the legislature for a five-year term and normally exercises limited powers, which are substantially expanded during the tenure of a caretaker government to oversee the transition to a new administration. Bangladesh has a unique system for the transfer of power: at the end of a government’s term, authority is temporarily handed over to a non-partisan caretaker government, drawn from civil society, for three months to conduct general elections and transfer power to the newly elected representatives. This system was first practiced in 1991 and was incorporated into the Constitution through the 14th Amendment in 1996.
As head of state, the President has the power to grant pardons, commute death sentences, or reduce punishments. In certain circumstances, the President also performs limited legislative and judicial functions as provided by the Constitution.

Head of government

The Prime Minister is the head of government of Bangladesh. In accordance with Article 56 of the Constitution, the Prime Minister is ceremonially appointed by the President from among the members of parliament who, in the President’s opinion, command the support of the majority of members.
The cabinet, headed by the Prime Minister, consists of selected ministers who collectively exercise executive authority under the Constitution. As head of government, the Prime Minister holds the supreme executive power and directs the overall governance of Bangladesh.

Cabinet and ministries

The executive branch of the Government of Bangladesh administers the state and implements laws enacted by the Jatiya Sangsad. It is responsible for maintaining internal law and order, conducting foreign relations, and protecting the defence, independence, and sovereignty of the country.
The Cabinet is headed by the Prime Minister and consists of Cabinet Ministers, Ministers of State, and Deputy Ministers. According to the Constitution of Bangladesh, all members of the Cabinet must be members of the Jatiya Sangsad, or they must be elected to the Parliament within six months after their appointment.
Each ministry is led politically by a Minister and administered by a Secretary, a senior civil servant who oversees policy implementation and manages the overall operation of the ministry and its subordinate divisions.
#MinistryDepartments/Divisions
1Ministry of DefenceArmed Forces Division; Other defence agencies
2Ministry of Home AffairsPublic Security Division; Security Services Division
3Ministry of Foreign AffairsPolitical Affairs; Multilateral & Bilateral Wings
4Ministry of EducationSecondary & Higher Education Division; Technical & Madrasa Education Division
5Ministry of FinanceFinance Division; Internal Resources Division; ERD; Financial Institutions Division
6Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary AffairsLegislative & Parliamentary Affairs Division; Law & Justice Division
7Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operativesLGRD Division; Rural Development & Co-operatives Division
8Ministry of Public AdministrationCivil Service Administration; Field administration
9Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information TechnologyICT Division; Posts & Telecommunications Division
10Ministry of IndustriesBOI; BSTI; BSCIC; BCIC
11Ministry of Housing and Public WorksPublic Works Department; Urban development authorities
12Ministry of Youth and SportsSports federations and youth agencies
13Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas EmploymentBMET; BOESL
14Ministry of Religious AffairsHajj Office; Waqf Administrator; Islamic Foundation; Hindu, Buddhist and Christian Welfare Trust
15Ministry of AgricultureDAE; BADC; Agricultural bodies
16Ministry of Science and TechnologyAtomic Energy Commission; NSTD
17Ministry of CommerceTrade organizations; Tariff Commissions
18Ministry of Textiles and JuteBJMC; BJRI; Jute Development Boards
19Ministry of Civil Aviation and TourismCAAB; Biman Bangladesh Airlines; Tourism Board
20Ministry of Primary and Mass EducationPrimary education and mass education agencies
21Ministry of FoodFood Distribution Department
22Ministry of LandLand Administration; Land Records & Surveys
23Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral ResourcesPower Division; Energy & Mineral Resources Division
24Ministry of Road Transport and BridgesRoad Transport & Highways Division; Bridges Division
25Ministry of RailwaysBangladesh Railway
26Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts AffairsCHT Affairs Boards
27Ministry of Social WelfareSocial Service Department
28Ministry of Women and Children AffairsWomen and Child Development Agencies
29Ministry of Health and Family WelfareHealth Services Division; Medical Education & Family Welfare Division
30Ministry of PlanningPlanning Commission; Statistics Division
31Ministry of Cultural AffairsNational Museum; Bangla Academy
32Ministry of Liberation War AffairsFreedom Fighter welfare agencies
33Ministry of Disaster Management and ReliefDisaster Management Department
34Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate ChangeDepartment of Environment; Forest Department
35Ministry of Water ResourcesBWDB; Water authorities
36Ministry of Fisheries and LivestockFisheries Department; Livestock Services
37Ministry of Labour and EmploymentLabour regulation bodies; Skills agencies
38Ministry of ShippingCPA; MPA; BIWTA; BIWTC
39Ministry of Information and BroadcastingBTV; Bangladesh Betar; PID; BFDC

Agencies

The executive calculates the income and expenditure of the government. It also performs various public welfare services such as; education, agriculture, establishment of industry, trade and commerce, land reform, tax and revenue collection. Beside this, it also accepts and implements various development projects.

Government in parliament

The legislature of Bangladesh is unicameral. Called the Jatiya Sangsad in Bengali, it is the parliament of Bangladesh. The speaker presides over meetings of the Jatiya Sangsad and conducts its business in an orderly fashion. The current Jatiya Sangsad contains 350 seats, including 50 seats reserved exclusively for women and 300 seats for elected members, which are apportioned on elected party position in the parliament. The twelfth national parliamentary election was held on 7 January 2024. The recently resigned speaker is Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, who was presiding over the tenth, eleventh and twelfth parliament. She is the first woman to have held this office.

Local government

At the local government level, the country is administratively structured into divisions, districts, subdistricts, unions, and villages. The lowest level of local government representative are local officials of union council those who are elected at the union level election. All larger administrative units are run by members of the civil service.

Finance

Economy

Taxation

Annual budget

Issues

Corruption