Bangabhaban

Banga Bhaban
An aerial view of Bangabhaban
General information
Architectural style	Indo-Islamic
Location	Dhaka, Bangladesh
Construction started	1905
Technical details
Floor area	6,700 m2 (72,000 sq ft) (approx.)
Website
bangabhaban.gov.bd

The Bangabhaban (Bengali: বঙ্গভবন Bôngobhôbôn, lit. House of Bengal) is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of Bangladesh, located on Bangabhaban Road, Dilkusha Avenue, Dhaka. It is surrounded by the Bangabhaban Gardens (formerly Nawab's Dilkusha Gardens).

The site hosted the Dilkusha Government House in the British Raj, which was used by the Viceroy of India and the Governor of Bengal. It became the Governor's House of East Pakistan after the Partition of India. President Abu Sayeed Chowdhury became the first Bangladeshi president to reside there after taking oath on 12 January 1971. The President's Guard Regiment is responsible for handling the palace's security.

During the period of the sultanate of Bengal, a Sufi saint, Hazrat Shahjalal Dakhini of Dhaka, and his followers were killed by agents of the sultan and buried on the site of Bangabhaban. The site soon became famous as a mazhar (mausoleum) for the devotees of the saint. It is conjectured that it belonged to a zamindar during the period of British India. Nawab Khwaja Abdul Ghani of Dhaka bought the site and built a bungalow there, which he named as Dilkusha Garden.

With the partition of Bengal in 1905, the government of East Bengal and Assam bought the site and constructed a palatial house which served as a temporary residence for the Viceroy of India until 1911. From 1911 to 1947, the palace was called the Governor's House, and served as the residence of the Governor of Bengal. Following the independence of Pakistan and India in 1947, when East Bengal officially became part of Pakistan, the palace became the residence of the Governor of East Pakistan. The building was severely damaged by a storm in 1961; substantial reconstruction was completed by 1964.