The interim head of Bangladesh is Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, a longtime political adversary of the country’s ousted prime minister, Sheikh Hasina.
The 84-year-old was named just one day after Hasina left the nation after weeks of violent protests that forced her to resign.
Prof. Yunus has received praise for his innovative use of microloans, but Hasina saw him as a public enemy. He is currently out on bail and contesting a six-month jail sentence in a case that he claims is politically motivated.
The students who spearheaded the large-scale demonstrations that toppled Hasina insisted on having Prof. Yunus head the temporary government because they could not tolerate a military-run government.
After a meeting with student leaders, military leaders, and President Mohammed Shahabuddin, Prof. Yunus was named top adviser of the temporary government. According to his spokesperson, he is making his way back to Dhaka from Paris, where he is having a small medical treatment.
Early in July, university students in Bangladesh started protesting, calling for the removal of quotas in public service positions. However, the demonstrations quickly grew into a larger anti-government movement.
Over 400 individuals are said to have died in conflicts between demonstrators and government forces, the majority of them were citizens who were shot by police. With almost 100 fatalities nationwide on Monday alone, it was the worst day of the uprising. Hundreds of police stations were set on fire.
Hours before demonstrators broke into and pillaged the former prime minister’s official house in the capital city of Dhaka, Hasina quit and fled to India’s neighbor. That ended her nearly 15-year hegemony quickly and abruptly.
Over the last ten years, Bangladesh’s economy has expanded, but the former prime minister faced mounting criticism for stifling her critics and imprisoning her political rivals.
Hours before demonstrators broke into and pillaged the former prime minister’s official house in the capital city of Dhaka, Hasina quit and fled to India’s neighbor. That ended her nearly 15-year hegemony quickly and abruptly.
Over the last ten years, Bangladesh’s economy has expanded, but the former prime minister faced mounting criticism for stifling her critics and imprisoning her political rivals.
