An army chief, a college student and a law professor: The key people who will shape Bangladesh’s future
Bangladesh, an interim government is now in place to begin the difficult work of bringing stability and order to the South Asian nation.
Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus will helm the temporary government made up of a team of 16 other advisers, including two leaders of the student-protest movement that swept the country in recent weeks.
The inauguration of the temporary government on Thursday brought to an end a four-day power vacuum after former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled to India following street protests that left hundreds dead.
The people helping Yunus’s new government include the general who oversaw Hasina’s exit, as well as a veteran civil servant. The son of Former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia is also emerging as a key voice.
Here’s a closer look at some of the key figures who are tasked with shaping Bangladesh’s future:
Muhammad Yunus, 84
Yunus, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his pioneering work on microfinance, is now the principal leader in charge of rebuilding Bangladesh after he was sworn in as the interim government’s chief adviser, a rank equivalent to prime minister.
His appointment to the post meets a chief demand of the student protesters in Dhaka. He faces the giant task of restoring law and order following weeks of violence.
Yunus suffered legal peril at the hands of Hasina’s government, was charged with crimes that he denied and that human-rights lawyers called politically motivated. He has frequently been portrayed as Hasina’s nemesis. Yunus described Hasina’s regime as a
