Ziaur Rahman, popularly known as Zia, was the second son of Mansur Rahman and Jahanara Khatun. His father was a chemist who specialised in paper and ink chemistry and worked for a government department at Writer's Building in Kolkata. As a child Ziaur Rahman, nicknamed Komol, was reserved, shy, quietly spoken, and intense in many respects. He was raised in Bagbari village, Bogra and studied in Bogra Zilla School.

Ziaur Rahman became the 7th President of Bangladesh on 21 April 1977. Years of disorder from the previous political administration of the Awami League and BAKSAL had left most of Bangladesh's state institutions in disarray, with constant internal and external threats. Assuming full control of the state, Zia lifted martial law and introduced massive reforms for the development of the country.  In late September 1977, a group of Japanese Red Army terrorists hijacked an aeroplane and forced it to land in Dhaka. On 30 September, while the attention of the government was riveted on this event, a mutiny broke out in Bogra. Although the mutiny was quickly quelled on the night of 2 October, a second mutiny started in Dhaka, led by disgruntled airmen of Bangladesh Air Force (BAF). The mutineers unsuccessfully attacked Zia's residence, captured Dhaka Radio for a short time and killed a good number of air force officers and airmen at Tejgaon International Airport, where they were gathered for negotiations with the hijackers. Wing Commander M. Hamidullah Khan BP (Sector Commander Bangladesh Defence Forces Sector 11), then BAF Ground Defence Commander, quickly put down the rebellion within the Air Force, but the government was severely shaken. Chief of Air Staff AVM AG Mahmud reappointed Wing Commander Hamidullah as Provost Marshal of BAF. Government intelligence had failed and Zia promptly dismissed the DGFI chief, AVM Aminul Islam Khan BAF, of 9th GD(P) formerly of PAF, and also the DG-NSI. In the aftermath at least 200 soldiers involved in the coup attempt were executed following a secret trial, prompting some critics to call Zia "ruthless".  The size of Bangladesh police forces was doubled and the number of soldiers of the army increased from 50,000 to 90,000. In 1978 he appointed Hussain Muhammad Ershad as the new Chief of Army Staff, promoting him to the rank of Lieutenant General. He was viewed as a professional soldier with no political aspirations (because of his imprisonment in former West Pakistan during the Bangladesh War of Independence) who possessed a soft corner for India. Quietly Ershad rose to become Zia's close politico-military counsellor. In 1981 he brought back Mujib's daughter Hasina Wazed to Bangladesh.

Using a quote from the above article, answer the following question: What was happening with his family while he was President?