Muhammad Yunus is one among Bangladesh’s most well-known faces.
Bangladesh is pinning its hopes on one of many nation’s most acclaimed intellectuals to convey stability to a rustic scarred by coups and political upheaval.
Muhammad Yunus, whose work assuaging poverty gained him a Nobel Peace Prize, was named the top of a brand new interim authorities on Tuesday following the sudden ouster of Sheikh Hasina as prime minister this week. Although he is largely stayed away from politics, Yunus is one among Bangladesh’s most well-known faces and brings appreciable clout with Western elites.
Restoring normalcy to Bangladesh will not be a small feat for Yunus. Over the previous few weeks, clashes between protesters and safety personnel price the lives of greater than 300 folks, one of many worst outbreaks of violence within the South Asian nation’s historical past. And whereas Hasina lifted tens of millions out of poverty by means of garment exports, financial development has recently stalled in Bangladesh, prompting the Worldwide Financial Fund to step in with bailout funds.
The military-backed appointment of Yunus to quickly lead Bangladesh is a exceptional flip of occasions for the economist. Over the previous couple of years, Yunus has spent a lot of his time inside Dhaka’s courtrooms, preventing about 200 expenses in opposition to him and his associates, together with allegations of cash laundering and graft. He and his supporters say Hasina’s authorities was behind the authorized stress and maybe noticed him as a risk to her energy. She denied these accusations.
Yunus, 84, is finest recognized for founding Grameen Financial institution and pioneering microcredit – offering tiny enterprise loans to the world’s poorest folks, most of them ladies. Although he is spent a lot of his life within the public eye, politics is essentially unexplored terrain. In 2007, the Bangladeshi authorities splintered, and the army seized energy. Yunus, who’d by no means run for workplace, thought-about forming a brand new celebration to fill the vacuum, however in the end scrapped the thought inside a couple of weeks.
“I really feel very uncomfortable with politics,” he mentioned in an interview earlier this yr.
Yunus brings star energy to the function and is a well-liked selection with many Western governments. His supporters span industries and continents. Through the years, he is cultivated friendships with European royals, enterprise titans like Richard Branson and the Clintons, who helped Yunus develop his microcredit initiatives to the US. His pals say he is a uncommon visionary with a real dedication to Bangladesh and uplifting the poor.
“He’s the voice of the folks left behind,” mentioned Paul Polman, a former chief govt of Unilever Plc and a detailed buddy. “He is an ethical chief. He is not any person who likes to speak about himself. He likes to speak concerning the folks he serves.”
That fame has endeared him to many in Bangladesh, together with the army, which had beforehand supported his first foray into politics. After profitable the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006, hundreds of Bangladeshis crowded venues simply to listen to him communicate. Many nonetheless bow and contact their hearts after they see him. Over the previous decade, Yunus has targeted on increasing dozens of social companies, together with ones that supply free well being care, vocational coaching and cellphone providers to poorer Bangladeshis.
Muhammad Yunus in his workplace in Dhaka.
Picture Credit score: Bloomberg
Whether or not Yunus pivots extra intentionally into politics – or just fills a gap earlier than elections are held – stays unclear. As protesters swarmed Dhaka’s streets in current weeks, Yunus spoke out publicly in opposition to the violence and characterised Hasina’s crackdown as a risk to democracy – however he made no point out of ambitions to take a extra formal function in shaping a brand new authorities.
“I am not a politician,” he mentioned within the interview earlier this yr. “That is the very last thing I’ll ever do.”
(Aside from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is revealed from a syndicated feed.)
