Until the assassination of President Ziaur Rahman in an abortive military putsch in Chittagong on May 30, 1981, Khaleda Zia had taken little interest in either politics or public life. Even when her husband was propelled to power after the political changes in 1975, she remained a shy and withdrawn housewife who devoted most of her time rearing up her two sons.

In March 1983, Justice Abdus Sattar, the then acting president and chairman BNP, appointed Khaleda Zia a vice-chairman of the BNP. On February 1984, she became the chairperson as Justice Sattar retired from politics. On August 10 the same year, the party elected her the chairperson.

Khaleda was detained seven times during almost nine years of autocratic rule of Hosain Ershad. In the face of a mass upsurge spearheaded by alliances led by Begum Zia and Sheikh Hasina, Ershad at last handed over power to a neutral caretaker government on December 6, 1990.

In 1991, she became the country's first woman prime minister after a free and fair general election on February 27, 1991 and formed the government. She has been elected as a member of the Parliament from the constituencies Bogra-7.

She became Prime Minister for the second consecutive term after the BNP had a landslide victory in February 15, 1996 general election to the sixth Jatiya Sangsad. The election was, however, boycotted by all other major parties who were demanding that the elections be held under a neutral caretaker government, following allegations of rigging in a by-election held in 1994. Turnout was estimated at around 25%, though the government at the time claimed it to be much higher. The short-lived parliament hastily introduced the Caretaker Government through 13th amendment to the Constitution, and then was dissolved to pave the way for the parliamentary elections. In the June 12, 1996 polls. In the June 12, 1996 parliamentary elections, the BNP lost to the Awami League led by Sheikh Hasina.

When in power (1991-96), the government of Khaleda made considerable progress in the education sector, introducing compulsory free primary education, free education of girls up to class ten, stipend for the girl students and food for education programme. It also increased the age-limit for entry to government services from 27 years to 30 years and provided highest budgetary allocation in the education sector.

Aiming to return to power, the BNP formed a four-party opposition alliance on January 6, 1999 with the Jatiya Party, the Jamaat-e-Islami and the Islami Oikya Jote and launched several agitation programmes against the ruling AL. Khaleda Zia, like Ziaur Rahman has been criticized much for making alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami, the party which opposed the independence of Bangladesh in 1971 and formed Razakar, Al-Badar and Al-Shams team to help West Pakistan to kill thousands of innocent people including the intellectuals of Bangladesh. Around 3 million people were killed by West Pakistan army with the help of Razakars, Al-Badars and Al-Shams in 1971 within 9 months of war.