Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus has been appointed chief of the military-backed interim government of Bangladesh after student leaders met with Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman and President Mohammed Shahabuddin late Tuesday evening.
Nahid Islam, one of the key coordinators of the student movement, said on Tuesday that Prof Yunus has agreed to take on the responsibility at the call of the student community to “save the country”, the Daily Star newspaper reported. “We took 24 hours to announce a framework for the interim government. However, considering the emergency situation, we are announcing it now,” Nahid said.
The Bangladesh’s Army also reshuffled several generals, demoting those close to Sheikh Hasina, and sacking Ziaul Ahsan, a commander of the feared Rapid Action Battalion paramilitary force. Former Prime Minister and BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia, 78, was also released from years of house arrest on Tuesday.
Yunus told a news channel that there was a critical need to restore law and order in Bangladesh, warning of potential spillover effects into neighbouring countries, including India. He stated, “If you destabilise Bangladesh, it will spill over all around, including Myanmar and the seven sisters in West Bengal.” He warned of a “volcanic eruption” that could impact the region, especially with a million Rohingyas already in the country.
Who is Muhammad Yunus?
Yunus is a distinguished social entrepreneur, banker, economist and civil society leader. He was born on June 28, 1940 in Chittagong in Bangladesh, and studied at Dhaka University. Later, he received a Fulbright scholarship to study economics at Vanderbilt University.
According to the website nobelprize.org, Yunus received his Ph.D. in economics from Vanderbilt in 1969, and in the next year he became an assistant professor of economics at Middle Tennessee State University. He rose to international fame when in 2006 he received Nobel Prize for his pioneer work in microcredit and microfinance.
The Grameen Bank, set up by Yunus in Bangladesh in 1983, provided small loans to underserved entrepreneurs, empowering them to achieve social and economic development despite limited access to traditional banking services.
His Accomplishments
From 1993 to 1995, Yunus was a member of the International Advisory Group for the Fourth World Conference on Women. He has served on the Global Commission of Women’s Health, the Advisory Council for Sustainable Economic Development, and the UN Expert Group on Women and Finance.