Interim leader Muhammad Yunus takes the helm in Bangladesh, to seek peace and prepare elections

Dhaka, August 9

Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus took the oath of office as head of Bangladesh's interim government on Thursday after protests forced out former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina this week.

The key tasks for Yunus now are restoring peace in Bangladesh and preparing for new elections following the ouster of Hasina, who fled to India after weeks of student protests over job quotas grew into an uprising against her increasingly autocratic 15-year rule.

The figurehead President Mohammed Shahabuddin administered the oath to Yunus for his role as chief adviser, which is the equivalent to a prime minister, in the presence of diplomats, civil society members, top businessmen and members of the former opposition party at the presidential palace in Dhaka. No representatives of Hasina's party were present.

The 16 other members of the interim Cabinet were drawn mainly from civil society and include two of the student protest leaders. The Cabinet members were chosen in discussions this week among student leaders, civil society representatives and the military.

The protests began in July against a quota system for government jobs that critics said favoured people with connections to Hasina's party. But she resigned and fled to India on Monday after the protests coalesced into a movement against her government and more than 300 people including students and police officers were killed in the spiralling violence.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent his best wishes to Yunus in a statement on social media platform X, and alluded to reports that Hindus in Muslim-majority Bangladesh had been targeted during the violence.

“We hope for an early return to normalcy, ensuring the safety and protection of Hindus and all other minority communities,” Modi said. “India remains committed to working with Bangladesh to fulfill the shared aspirations of both our peoples for peace, security and development.”

Yunus, who was awarded the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for his work developing microcredit markets, was in Paris for the Olympics when he was chosen for the interim role. He called for calm and an end to partisan violence before he returned home earlier on Thursday.

In his first comments after his arrival, he told a news briefing that his priority would be to restore order. “Bangladesh is a family. We have to unite it,” Yunus said, flanked by student leaders. “It has immense possibility.”