Who is Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate who'll head Bangladesh's interim government?
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus has been chosen to head Bangladesh’s interim government after student protests sparked an uprising that toppled the former leader
DHAKA, Bangladesh — Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus has been chosen to head Bangladesh’s interim government after the nation's longtime prime minister resigned and fled abroad in the face of a broad uprising against her rule.
Known as the “banker to the poorest of the poor” and a longtime critic of the ousted Sheikh Hasina, Yunus will act as a caretaker premier until new elections are held. The decision followed a meeting late Tuesday that included student protest leaders, military chiefs, civil society members and business leaders.
Hasina was forced to flee Monday after weeks of protests over a quota system for allocating government jobs turned into a broader challenge to her 15-year rule, which was marked by a rising economy but an increasingly authoritarian streak.
Hasina’s departure has plunged bangladesh into a political crisis. The army has temporarily taken control, but it is unclear what its role would be in an interim government after the president dissolved Parliament on Tuesday to pave the way for elections.
Student leaders who organized the protests have wanted Yunus, who is currently in Paris for the Olympics as an adviser to its organizers, to lead an interim government.
He could not immediately be reached for comment, but key student leader Nahid Islam asserted that Yunus agreed to step in during a discussion with them. The 83-year-old is a well-known critic and political opponent of Hasina.
Yunus called her resignation the country’s “second liberation day.” She once called him a “bloodsucker.”
An economist and banker by
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