Muhammad Yunus takes oath as head of Bangladesh’s interim government

Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, centre, takes the oath of office as the chief adviser of Bangladesh’s new interim government during a ceremony administered by President Mohammed Shahabuddin, left, in Dhaka

Dhaka Aug. 8—The Nobel Peace Prize-winning economist Muhammad Yunus has been sworn in as the head of Bangladesh’s interim government, three days after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was forced to resign and flee to neighbouring India.

Yunus, 84, took the oath during a ceremony at the presidential palace in Dhaka on Thursday night that was attended by political leaders, civil society leaders, generals and diplomats.

“I will uphold, support and protect the constitution,” Yunus said as he was administered the oath by President Mohammed Shahabuddin, adding that he will perform his duties “sincerely”.

More than a dozen members of his cabinet, whose titles are advisers, not ministers, also took the oath as the caretaker government will now seek to restore peace and prepare for new elections.

Members of the interim government are sworn in

They include Nahid Islam and Asif Mahmud, top leaders of the Students Against Discrimination group, which led the weeks-long protests that ousted Hasina.

Others include Touhid Hossain, a former foreign secretary, and Hassan Ariff, a former attorney general. Syeda Rizwana Hasan, an award-winning environmental lawyer, and Asif Nazrul, a top law professor and writer, were also sworn in.

Adilur Rahman Khan, a prominent human rights activist who was sentenced to two years in jail by Hasina’s government, also took the oath as an adviser.

No representatives of Hasina’s Awami League party were present at the ceremony.

Hasina quit on Monday after nationwide protests that began in July against a quota system for government jobs that critics said favoured people with connections to her party.

But the demonstrations soon grew into a bigger challenge for Hasina’s 15-year rule as more than 300 people, including students, were killed during spiralling violence.

Yunus, who was awarded the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for his work developing microcredit markets, was in the French capital for the 2024 Olympics when he was chosen for the interim role and returned home earlier on Thursday to tight security at the airport in Dhaka.

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