Bangladesh president announces Nobel laureate Yunus as interim government chief

Nobel laureate Mohammad Yunus appointed as head of Bangladesh's interim government after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigns.

Nobel laureate Mohammad Yunus was on Tuesday (August 6, 2024) appointed as the head of Bangladesh's interim government by President Mohammed Shahabuddin, a day after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled the country following deadly protests against her government over a controversial quota system in jobs.

The decision was made in a meeting of President Shahabuddin with chiefs of the three services and a 13-member delegation of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement at Bangabhaban tonight, President's Press Secretary Md. Joynal Abedin said.

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"The President named Dr Yunus as the chief adviser of the interim government," he announced after the four-hour-long meeting.

He added that the names of the advisers of the interim cabinet would be announced later after discussion with different political parties.

According to the state-run BSS news agency, the president wished for the inclusion of at least one 1971 Liberation War veteran as an adviser of the cabinet.

During the meeting, Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman, Navy Chief Admiral M Nazmul Hassan, Air Chief Marshal Hasan Mahmood Khan, Dhaka University Law Department Professor Asif Nazrul and International Relations Department Professor Tanzim Uddin Khan were present.