Nobel Laureate Yunus Returns To Bangladesh To Lead Caretaker Government

Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus made an emotional return to Bangladesh on Thursday to lead a new interim government after weeks of student protests forced Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to resign and flee to neighboring India, as reported by Ruma Paul for Reuters.

The economist, known as the "banker to the poor," received the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for founding a bank that pioneered the fight against poverty through small loans to needy borrowers. I Photo: University of Salford Press Office

A harsh critic of Hasina, Yunus, 84, arrived in Dhaka following medical treatment in Paris, after protesters backed him for the role in a caretaker government tasked with holding elections for a new leader.

“The country has the possibility of becoming a very beautiful nation," Yunus told reporters at the airport, where he was greeted by senior military officers and student leaders.

The student protesters had saved the country, he said, adding, "Whatever path our students show us, we will move ahead with that."

Yunus became emotional, choking back tears as he referred to a student who he said had been shot during the protests, noting that the sacrifice could not be forgotten. "Now again we have to rise up.

To the government officials here and defense chiefs—we are a family, we should move ahead together," he said.

The economist, known as the "banker to the poor," received the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for founding a bank that pioneered the fight against poverty through small loans to needy borrowers.

Yunus is set to be sworn in as chief of a team of advisers at 14:30 GMT at the official residence of President Mohammed Shahabuddin, according to additional reporting by Sudipto Ganguly, Krishna Das, Tanvi Mehta, and Shounak Dasgupta.