Protesters who toppled Hasina want Muhammad Yunus to lead country

Dhaka: Bangladesh is in the midst of a major transition after former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was forced to flee the country after weeks of deadly protests initially over government jobs morphed into a broader challenge to her 15-year rule, which was marked by a rising economy but an increasingly authoritarian streak.

Amid this uncertainty, one name has emerged that could take the reins in Bangladesh until fresh elections are announced: Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel laureate who is also known as the “banker to the poorest of the poor” and was once called a “bloodsucker” by Hasina.

Student leaders who organised the protests want Yunus, who is currently in Paris for the Olympics, to head an interim government. Yunus, 83, is a well-known critic and opponent of Hasina. He called her resignation the country’s “second liberation day.”

An economist and banker by profession, Yunus 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.”