Sheikh Hasina started a third term as prime minister in January 2014 after her Awami League won elections boycotted by the opposition amid an ongoing political crisis.
Politics has long been dominated by bitter rivalry between two women: Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.
Both have been prime minister at various times since 1991.
Their hostility stems in part from differences over who played a greater role in the country's independence struggle - Hasina's father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, or Khaleda Zia's husband, General Ziaur Rahman.
They sank their differences when military ruler Hossain Mohammad Ershad was in power from 1982 to 1990, but they have been uncompromising rivals ever since.
