Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus was sworn in as the head of Bangladesh's interim government on Thursday, marking a significant shift in the nation’s political landscape following the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The swearing-in ceremony took place at the presidential palace in Dhaka, where President Mohammed Shahabuddin administered the oath.
The event was attended by diplomats, civil society members, prominent business leaders, and members of the former opposition party, but notably, no representatives from Hasina’s party were present.
Yunus, who now serves as the chief adviser—a position akin to the prime minister—leads a 16-member interim Cabinet predominantly composed of civil society figures and student protest leaders.
The Cabinet was formed through a series of discussions among student leaders, civil society, and the military earlier in the week, reflecting a broad spectrum of non-political actors in Bangladesh.
A new interim government
The interim Cabinet includes key figures from various sectors of Bangladeshi society:
- Syeda Rizwana Hasan: A Supreme Court lawyer and chief executive of the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA).
- Farida Akhtar: A women’s rights activist.
- Adilur Rahman Khan: A Supreme Court lawyer and human rights activist.
- AFM Khalid Hossain: Deputy chief of the right-wing party Hefazat-e-Islam.
- Nurjahan Begum: A trustee of Grameen Telecom and one of Yunus’s earliest associates.
- Sharmeen Murshid: An election expert and freedom fighter from the Bangladesh Liberation War.
- Faruk-e-Azam: A recipient of the Bir Pratik honor, Bangladesh’s fourth-highest gallantry award, for his role in the 1971 Liberation War.
- Nahid Islam: A Dhaka University student and key organizer of the Anti-Discrimination Students' Movement.
- Asif Mahmud: Another key student organizer from Dhaka University.
- Salehuddin Ahmed: A former governor of Bangladesh Bank.
- Prof Asif Nazrul: A law professor at Dhaka University.
- AF Hassan Ariff: A former attorney general and senior advocate of the Bangladesh Supreme Court.
- M Sakhawat Hossain: A former election commissioner and retired brigadier general of the Bangladesh Army.
- Supradip Chakma: Chairman of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Board (CHTDB).
- Prof Bidhan Ranjan Roy: Former director of the National Institute of Mental Health & Hospital’s Department of Psychiatry.
- Touhid Hossain: A former foreign secretary of Bangladesh.
It is worth noting that Roy, Chakma, and Faruk-e-Azam could not take the oath as they were outside Dhaka at the time.
The fall of Sheikh Hasina
The new interim government was established amid a backdrop of intense political unrest in Bangladesh, culminating in the resignation and exile of Sheikh Hasina, the country’s long-serving prime minister.
Hasina, who led the Awami League, had faced growing opposition for months, particularly after her controversial victory in the January 7 elections, which were marred by widespread allegations of electoral fraud.
The tipping point came in June when the Bangladeshi high court reinstated a 30% reservation in government jobs for family members of freedom fighters and veterans of the 1971 War of Independence.
This decision sparked widespread protests, especially among students, who viewed the quota system as discriminatory. Despite the Supreme Court later scaling back the quota, Hasina’s heavy-handed response to the protests, including allegedly derogatory remarks about the protesters, only fueled the unrest.
As the protests escalated, over 450 people lost their lives in the ensuing violence, with the death toll mounting rapidly in the days leading up to Hasina’s resignation.
On Sunday, clashes between protesters and police resulted in over 100 deaths and numerous injuries. The following day, tens of thousands of students converged on Dhaka, marching towards the prime minister’s official residence, Ganabhaban.
Faced with this overwhelming opposition, Hasina had no choice but to step down and flee to India.
The future?
The formation of the interim government under Yunus’s leadership represents a significant departure from Bangladesh’s recent political history.
As chief adviser, Yunus is now tasked with navigating the country through this period of transition, ensuring stability, and preparing for fresh elections.
The inclusion of student leaders and civil society figures in the interim Cabinet suggests a new direction for Bangladeshi politics, one that may prioritise the voices of the youth and non-political actors.
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