Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus, known as the ‘banker to the poor’ for his efforts in poverty alleviation, will be the interim government’s chief adviser, according to the coordinators of the student movement that spearheaded the protests in Bangladesh, according to a Daily Star article.
Dr Yunus has accepted the responsibility, informs Nahid Islam
In a video released on social media, Nahid Islam, one of the primary coordinators of the campaign that resulted in Sheikh Hasina’s removal, stated that Professor Yunus had accepted to take on the responsibility given the country’s current condition.
“We have decided to form an interim government in which internationally renowned Nobel Laureate Dr Mohammad Yunus, who is widely accepted, will be the chief adviser,” Nahid of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement declared.
Also read: India Assures Support as Sheikh Hasina Flees Bangladesh Amid Deadly Protests
The development comes as Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin said that an interim government would be created after the Parliament was dissolved, following widespread disorder over a contentious quota system in government positions that led to the downfall of the Hasina Government.
Over 300 people have died throughout the month-long protest. The president also ordered the release of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.
Who is Muhammad Yunus?
However, Yunus’ public presence and seeming tight ties with the West, particularly the United States, have resulted in multiple squabbles with Hasina since her return to office in 2008.
In 2011, the Hasina-led government reportedly forced him to step down as managing director of Grameen Bank since he was over the legal retirement age of 60. A smear campaign accused him of advocating homosexuality.
Also read: Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina quits; flees country amid violent clashes
The Hasina government has charged Yunus in more than 190 cases. The 83-year-old received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his pioneering work in lifting millions out of poverty. Grameen Bank, the microfinance lender he founded, provided small loans to Bangladesh’s rural poor, boosting the country’s economic growth.
Muhammad Yunus, born in 1940 in Chittagong, attended Dhaka University before coming to the United States to study economics at Vanderbilt University. After earning his PhD, Yunus worked as an assistant professor at Middle Tennessee State University before returning to Bangladesh.
