Bangladesh banknotes replace founding President’s portrait

Bangladesh issues new banknotes without portraits, featuring natural landscapes and historical landmarks, amid political turmoil.

Bangladesh on Sunday issued new banknotes to replace designs featuring its founding President, the father of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina who was overthrown last year.

The South Asian nation of some 170 million people has been run by a caretaker government since Ms. Hasina fled — whose trial opened on Sunday on charges of trying to crush the uprising against her government in August 2024.

Until now, all notes featured the portrait of her father, the late Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who led Bangladesh from independence from Pakistan in 1971 until soldiers assassinated him and most of his family in a 1975 coup.

"Under the new series and design, the notes will not feature any human portraits, but will instead showcase natural landscapes and traditional landmarks," Bangladesh Bank spokesman Arif Hossain Khan said.

Among the designs in the Muslim-majority nation are images of Hindu and Buddhist temples, as well as historical palaces.

They also include artwork of the late painter Zainul Abedin, depicting the Bengal famine during British colonial rule.

Another will depict the national martyrs' memorial for those who died in the independence war against Pakistan.