Who Is Muhammad Yunus? Bangladeshi Nobel Laureate Backed By Student Leaders As 'Chief Adviser To Interim Govt'

After interim elections were announced in Bangladesh, student leaders announced the proposal of Mohammad Yunus’s name as the chief advisor of the interim government.

Bangladesh Violence: The coordinators of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement announced an outline for an interim government headed by Nobel Laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus. This comes following the announcement of interim elections in Bangladesh after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's resignation amid anti-quota protests. 

The organisers proposed Mohammad Yunus’s name as the chief advisor of the interim government. The 83-year-old, known as the "banker to the poorest of the poor," won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006.

According to Dhaka Tribune, the video message by key coordinators of the student movement was conveyed by Nahid Islam, Asif Mahmud, and Abu Bakar Mazumdar on Tuesday.

In the video posted on social media early this morning, Nahid Islam, one of the key coordinators of the movement, said they have already talked with Yunus, and he has given his consent considering the present situation of the country, as reported by Bangladesh English Daily The Daily Star.

Referring to the indiscriminate firing and attacks on temples and widespread looting in various places, Nahid said, "We took 24 hours to announce a framework for the interim government. However, considering the emergency situation, we are announcing it now". 

"We have decided that the interim government would be formed in which internationally renowned Nobel Laureate Dr. Mohammad Yunus, who has wide acceptability, would be the chief adviser," Nahid announced. "We want to see the process rolling by the morning. We urge the president to take steps as soon as possible to form an interim government headed by Dr. Yunus," he further stated.

"And we will also announce the names of the remaining members of the interim government by morning.” Earlier Monday night, Nahid announced that an interim government outline would be formulated within the next 24 hours. However, the coordinators decided to announce their stance as quickly as possible.

Who Is Dr. Muhammad Yunus?

Professor Muhammad Yunus played a pioneering role in establishing the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh in 1983. His aim was to help the poor escape from poverty by providing loans on terms suitable to them and by teaching them a few sound financial principles so they could help themselves.

Born in 1940 in the seaport city of Chittagong, Professor Yunus studied at Dhaka University in Bangladesh. 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. 

Following his return to Bangladesh, Yunus headed the economics department at Chittagong University. From 1993 to 1995, he 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.

Yunus is the recipient of numerous international awards for his ideas and endeavors, including the Mohamed Shabdeen Award for Science (1993), Sri Lanka; Humanitarian Award (1993), CARE, USA; World Food Prize (1994), World Food Prize Foundation, USA; lndependence Day Award (1987), Bangladesh’s highest award; King Hussein Humanitarian Leadership Award (2000), King Hussien Foundation, Jordan; Volvo Environment Prize (2003), Volvo Environment Prize Foundation, Sweden; Nikkei Asia Prize for Regional Growth (2004), Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Japan; Franklin D. Roosevelt Freedom Award (2006), Roosevelt Institute of The Netherlands; and the Seoul Peace Prize (2006), Seoul Peace Prize Cultural Foundation, Seoul, Korea. He is a member of the board of the United Nations Foundation.

Muhammad Yunus had back in 2007 floated a political party named ‘Nagarik Shakti’. But he ruled out any possibility of contesting elections again. "I am not a politician, I am not fit for that kind of job," he said, while speaking to ABP LIVE.

“I'll try to be as miles away as possible from politics...I don't want to get involved in politics …I do things for people and I know how to do that and I love that. Some people like it, some dislike it but my work goes on. This (politics) is a completely new territory and I don't want to get involved in that.”

In January 2024, Yunus was sentenced to six months in jail by a court on a labour law case decried by his supporters as "politically motivated".

While pronouncing the judgement, Labour Court judge Sheikh Merina Sultana had said, "The allegation of violating the Labour Law against him has been proved. It appears that the allegation has not been barred by limitation (either)," reported PTI.
As per the report, the judge from the Third Labour Court ruled that Yunus would undergo a six-month term of simple or non-rigorous imprisonment.

This ruling was made on the grounds of a law violation during his tenure as the chairman of Grameen Telecom, along with three other executives associated with the social business company.

Additionally, the judge imposed a fine of Taka 25,000 on each of them, saying that in default they would have to serve 10 more days in jail. Following the verdict, Yunus and the three co-accused filed for bail, and the judge immediately granted one month's bail in exchange for a Taka 5,000 bond, reported PTI.