H.M. Ershad, who became Bangladesh president after seizing power in 1982 coup, dies aged 89
- Ershad ruled the country from 1982 to 1990 and was the leader of the opposition in the current parliament
- During the 1982 bloodless coup, he took over as the chief martial law administrator by removing the elected government
Ershad had long been suffering from multiple complications including infections in his lungs and kidneys, his younger brother, G.M. Quader, said on Sunday. He was admitted to the Dhaka military hospital on June 26 and was kept in the intensive care unit. His condition later deteriorated and was placed on life support.
Ershad ruled the country from 1982 to 1990. He was the leader of the opposition in the current parliament. He assumed power as the military chief in 1982 and declared himself president the following year. He later floated his own Jatiya Party and won a controversial election in 1986.
President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Rasina both expressed their condolences on Sunday.
Ershad was born in 1930 in Coochbehar district of West Bengal state in then British India. His parents migrated to present-day Bangladesh, which was then a part of Pakistan, in 1948, after the end of British colonial rule in the Indian subcontinent.
Ershad was commissioned into the Pakistan Army in 1952 from the Officers Training School in Kohat, Pakistan. He was an adjutant in the East Bengal Regiment, the largest formation in the future Bangladesh Army.
