Awami League
Bangladesh Awami League বাংলাদেশ আওয়ামী লীগ | |
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| Abbreviation | AL |
| President | Sheikh Hasina Sheikh Selim (acting) |
| General Secretary | Obaidul Quader |
| Governing body | Central Working Committee |
| Founders | |
| Founded | 23 June 1949 (77 years, 82 days) (East Pakistan Awami Muslim League) |
| Banned | 10 May 2025 (1 year, 126 days) |
| Split from | Muslim League |
| Headquarters | Dhaka |
| Newspaper | Uttaran |
| Student wing | Bangladesh Chhatra League |
| Youth wing | Bangladesh Awami Jubo League |
| Women's wing | |
| Farmer wing | Bangladesh Krishak League |
| Trade union | Bangladesh Jatiya Sramik League |
| Volunteer wing | Bangladesh Awami Swechasebak League |
| Armed wing |
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| Ideology | |
| Political position |
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| National affiliation | Grand Alliance |
| Colours | Green |
| Slogan | Joy Bangla, Joy Bangabandhu ("Victory to Bengal, victory to Bangabandhu") |
| Election symbol | |
 Boat | |
| Party flag | |
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| Website | |
| Awami League official | |
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 Bangladesh portal |
The Bangladesh Awami League, commonly known as the Awami League, was a political party in Bangladesh and its predecessor East Pakistan. Founded on 23 June 1949, it played a vital role in the country's struggle for independence. The party had maintained a sole dominance over the country's political system between 2009 and 2024, before being ousted in the July Uprising. Due to its role in July massacre, since May 2025, all activities of the party are banned in Bangladesh.
On 23 June 1949, the party was founded as the East Pakistan Awami Muslim League, and after 1955 as the East Pakistan Awami League, by Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani, Yar Mohammad Khan, Shamsul Huq, and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. It was eventually established as the provincial party of the All-Pakistan Awami League, founded by Huseyn Suhrawardy which was the alternative to the domination of the Muslim League in Pakistan and over centralization of the government. The party quickly gained vast popular support in East Pakistan and eventually led the forces of Bengali nationalism in the struggle against West Pakistan's military and political establishment. The party under the leadership of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, led the struggle for independence, first through huge populist and civil disobedience movements, such as the Six Point movement and Non-cooperation movement (1971), and then during the Bangladesh War of Independence.
After the emergence of independent Bangladesh, Awami League under the leadership of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman won the first general elections. The party along with other left-wing political parties of Bangladesh were merged into Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League in January 1975, where Awami League politicians played the leading role in BaKSAL. After the 15 August 1975 coup d'état, the party was made onto the political sidelines, and many of its senior leaders and activists were executed or jailed. In 1981, Sheikh Hasina, the daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, became the president of the party.
The party played a crucial role in the anti-authoritarian movements against the regime of Hussain Muhammad Ershad. After the restoration of democracy amidst mass uprising in 1990, the Awami League emerged as one of the principal players of Bangladeshi politics. The party formed governments winning the 1996, 2008, 2014, 2018 and 2024 general elections. Throughout its tenure as the ruling party from 2009 to 2024 under Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh experienced significant democratic backsliding and was consistently described as authoritarian, as well as dictatorial. It was finally overthrown with the July Uprising in August 2024. Since then, the party remained underground. On 10 May 2025, the interim government banned all activities by the Awami League, in cyberspace and elsewhere, under the Anti-Terrorism Act. The ban will last until the International Crimes Tribunal completes the trial of the party and its leaders. On 12 May 2025, the Bangladesh Election Commission suspended the registration of the Awami League as a party.
Former prime minister Sheikh Hasina has served as president of the Awami League since 1981, with Obaidul Quader as its general secretary since 2016. In September 2026, Hasina announced that her cousin, Sheikh Selim, was designated as the acting President in her absence. Amongst the leaders of the Awami League, five served as president of Bangladesh, four served as prime minister of Bangladesh and one, Huseyn Suhrawardy, served as prime minister of Pakistan.