1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1985th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 985th year of the 2nd millennium, the 85th year of the 20th century, and the 6th year of the 1980s decade.

The year 1985 was the 14th year after the independence of Bangladesh. It was also the fourth year of the Government of Hussain Muhammad Ershad.

• President: Hussain Muhammad Ershad
• Prime Minister: Ataur Rahman Khan
• Chief Justice: F.K.M. Munim

Note: For the year 1985 average official exchange rate for BDT was 27.99 per US$.

• 13 February – Raufun Basunia, Joint Secretary of Bangladesh Chhatra League, and the General Secretary of its University of Dhaka branch was shot dead during a clash between Chhatra Sangram Parishad and Chhatra Samaj, the ruling Jatiyo Party backed student wing in front of Mohsin Hall at University of Dhaka.^[3][4]
• 21 March – A referendum on military rule was held in order to confirm the military rule of Hussain Mohammed Ershad. The referendum asked voters "Do you support the policies of President Ershad, and do you want him to continue to run this administration until a civilian government is formed through elections?" The result saw 94.5% vote in favour, with a turnout of 72.2%.^[5] The opposition organised a general strike on the day of the referendum, and alleged that the results were fraudulent.
• Heavy mortars were used in an exchange of fire between Bangladeshi and Indian forces on a disputed section of the border between the two nations.^[6]
• 22 November – The MOU between Bangladesh and India regarding Ganges water sharing was extended for three years.^[7]
• 8 December – The first SAARC summit was held in Dhaka, Bangladesh on 6–8 December 1985 and was attended by the Government representative and president of Bangladesh, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, the kings of Bhutan and Nepal, and the prime minister of India.^[8] They signed the SAARC Charter on 8 December 1985, thereby establishing the regional association, and established study groups on the problems of terrorism and drug trafficking, as well as planning a ministerial-level meeting about GATT, and a ministerial-level conference on increasing the participation of women at the regional level.^[8] The summit also agreed to establish a SAARC secretariat and adopted an official SAARC emblem.^[8]

• 8 April – Masuma Rahman Nabila, actor
• 1 November – Enamul Haque, footballer

• 15 March – Aroj Ali Matubbar, author (b. 1900)
• 10 July – Ahsan Habib, poet (b. 1917)
• 17 July – Abdul Hady Talukdar, academician (b. 1905)
• 5 October – Abdus Sattar, former president (b. 1906)
• 30 October – Fazle Lohani, journalist and TV host (b. 1929)
• 4 December – Bijoy Sarkar, baul singer (b. 1903)

• 1980s in Bangladesh
• Timeline of Bangladeshi history