Bangladesh President Shahabuddin Resigns, Citing Health Problems and Past Ties to Ousted Leader Hasina

Bangladesh's President Mohammed Shahabuddin resigned Friday, July 24, 2026, ending a tenure that outlasted the government that put him in office.

Shahabuddin submitted his resignation letter to Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad, who accepted it at 5:01 p.m. local time, according to the President's Press Secretary Md Sarwar Alam, as reported by The Daily Star. Shahabuddin confirmed the resignation directly in a call with AFP, telling the wire service, "Yes, I have resigned," when asked whether he planned to step down before his term ends in 2028.

He cited serious health problems. In his letter to the Speaker, obtained by AFP and cited by Channel News Asia, Shahabuddin wrote that "due to worsening physical and mental incapacity ... it is no longer possible for me to properly discharge the responsibilities of an important constitutional office such as the presidency." The Hindu reported that in the letter he specified heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and kidney complications as the conditions preventing him from continuing.

When The Daily Star asked him directly about the reason for resigning, Shahabuddin kept it simple: "I am suffering from various health complications. I have nothing more to add at this moment."

A Presidency Born Under Hasina, Surviving Her Fall

Shahabuddin was sworn in as Bangladesh's 22nd president on April 24, 2023, during Sheikh Hasina's third term as prime minister, according to The Hindu. He was the Awami League's nominee and was elected unopposed on February 13, 2023, after no rival candidate filed papers to contest the race, per The Daily Star. Before entering politics-adjacent office, he worked as a district and sessions judge until retiring in 2006 and later served on Bangladesh's Anti-Corruption Commission from 2011 to 2016. He also held posts in Awami League-linked student and labor organizations going back decades, and sat on the Awami League's advisory council, an organization whose activities are now banned in Bangladesh.

Hasina was re-elected in a January 2024 vote that The Hindu described as controversial. Months later, a student-led uprising forced her from power on August 5, 2024, and she has lived in exile in India ever since. Shahabuddin, as president, oversaw the formation of the interim government that followed her ouster, a role he defended directly in his resignation letter, according to The Hindu.

Calls to remove Shahabuddin mounted almost immediately once Hasina fell, according to CNA, given his ties to her party and government.

The London Phone Call

The specific trigger for this week's resignation traces back to a trip Shahabuddin took to London for medical treatment. The Daily Star reported he traveled there May 9 and returned May 18. Media reports surfaced afterward claiming Shahabuddin spoke by phone with the exiled Hasina during that visit, an allegation that reignited pressure on him to step down.

Shahabuddin has denied speaking with Hasina during the trip, according to CNA. No independent verification of the call has been presented in available reporting, and no formal investigation or charge tied to the alleged call has been reported. The claim remains an allegation, not an established fact.

Government Confusion Over the Timing

The resignation caught Bangladesh's own government somewhat flat-footed. Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed, of the now-governing Bangladesh Nationalist Party, told reporters Thursday, the day before the resignation, that the government was not aware Shahabuddin had submitted any resignation. "If he wants to resign, he would have to submit his resignation letter to the speaker in accordance with the Constitution," Ahmed said, according to CNA.

That comment suggests the government was reacting to speculation rather than coordinating the move, at least publicly. It also underscores that despite months of pressure, Shahabuddin's exit came on his own timeline and, by his own account, for health reasons rather than as a negotiated political exit.

What Happens Next

Bangladesh's presidency is a largely ceremonial post, with real executive power resting in the prime minister's office. Prime Minister Tarique Rahman was sworn in on February 17, 2026, months after Hasina's fall reshaped the country's politics. The Hindu reported that earlier reports had suggested Rahman's government was already planning to appoint Cabinet Secretary Nasimul Gani as the next president, ahead of Shahabuddin's actual resignation.

Bangladesh's parliament will now need to move on selecting Shahabuddin's replacement. Given his age, 76, and the specific medical conditions he cited, including heart disease and kidney complications, the health rationale is plausible on its face. Whether Gani or another figure ultimately fills the post will be the next concrete marker of how much the Rahman government wants a clean institutional break from the Hasina era, versus how much of that break has already happened by default.