Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel laureate who is known as the "banker to the poorest of the poor" as he founded Grameen Bank, has formally agreed to head the interim government in Bangladesh.
Lamiya Murshed, executive director of the Yunus Centre, told British journalist David Bergman that she spoke to the Nobel laureate recently and he confirmed that he would head the interim government following the request by student leaders.
According to Murshed, Yunus told students that he did not want to do this as this is not something that he is trained to do, but he agreed to their request.
Yunus, who is currently in Paris, will be flying back to Bangladesh soon.
Chief of Army Staff General Waker-Uz-Zaman and Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin are okay with Muhammad Yunus heading the interim government.
Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was forced to flee Bangladesh after weeks of deadly protests led to the death of over 400 people. The country's army has temporarily taken control of Bangladesh.
Who is Muhammad Yunus
The protesters have been demanding that Yunus, who was once called a "bloodsucker" by Hasina, should head the interim government.
Yunus (83) a well-known critic of Hasina had described her resignation as the country's second liberation day.
Yunus was born in 1940 in Chittagong, a seaport city in Bangladesh. He received his PhD from Vanderbilt University in the United States and taught there briefly before returning to Bangladesh.
An economist and banker by profession, Yunus founded Grameen Bank in 1983 to offer small loans to entrepreneurs who would not normally qualify to receive them. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for pioneering the use of microcredit to help impoverished people, particularly women. The Nobel Peace Prize committee credited Yunus and his Grameen Bank for their efforts to create economic and social development from below.
He had earlier announced he would form a political party in 2007 when the country was run by a military-backed government. However, he did not follow through on the plan.
Yunus ran into trouble with Hasina in 2008 when her administration launched a series of investigations into him. Hasina accused Yunus of using force and other means to recover loans from poor rural women as the head of Grameen Bank—allegations that he vehemently denied.
Bangladesh government began reviewing Grameen Bank's activities in 2011, and Yunus was sacked as managing director for allegedly violating government retirement regulations. He was put on trial in 2013 on charges of receiving money without government permission, including his Nobel Prize and royalties from a book.
Yunus later faced more charges involving other companies he created, including Grameen Telecom, which is part of the country's largest mobile phone company, GrameenPhone. In 2023, a few former Grameen Telecom workers filed a case against Yunus accusing him of siphoning off their job benefits. He denied the accusations.
Earlier this year, a special judge's court in Bangladesh indicted Yunus and 13 others on charges over a $2 million embezzlement case. Yunus pleaded not guilty and is out on bail for now.
—With agency inputs
