Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (Bengali: শেখ মুজিবুর রহমান); Bengali pronunciation: [Shekh Mujibur Rôhman]; (17 March 1920 – 15 August 1975), shortened as Sheikh Mujib or just Mujib, was a Bengali politician and statesman. He is the founding father of the People's Republic of Bangladesh. He served as the first President of Bangladesh and later Prime Minister of Bangladesh from March 1971 until his assassination in August 1975. He is considered to be the driving force behind the independence of Bangladesh. He is popularly known under the title of Bangabandhu (Bôngobondhu "Friend of Bengal"). He became a leading figure in and eventually the leader of the Awami League, founded in 1949 as an East Pakistan-based political party in Pakistan. Mujib is credited as an important figure in efforts to gain politician autonomy for East Pakistan and later as the central figure behind the Bangladesh Liberation Movement and the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. Thus, he is regarded Jatir Janak (Jatir Jônok "Father of the Nation") of Bangladesh. His daughter Sheikh Hasina is the current leader of the Awami League and the present Prime Minister of Bangladesh.
