Whether Yunus is focusing more deliberately on politics, or simply filling a gap before elections are held, remains unclear | Photo: Bloomberg
By Kai Schultz
Bangladesh is pinning its hopes on one of the country’s most acclaimed intellectuals to bring stability to a country scarred by coups and political unrest.
Muhammad Yunus, whose work to alleviate poverty earned him the Nobel Peace Prize, was named head of a new caretaker government on Tuesday following the sudden ouster of Sheikh Hasina as prime minister this week. Although he has largely stayed out of politics, Yunus is one of Bangladesh’s most famous faces and wields considerable influence among the Western elite.
It will be no small feat for Yunus to restore normalcy to Bangladesh. Clashes between protesters and security personnel have left more than 300 people dead in recent weeks, one of the worst outbreaks of violence in the South Asian nation’s history. And while Hasina has lifted millions out of poverty through garment exports, Bangladesh’s economic growth has stalled recently, prompting the International Monetary Fund to step in with bailout funds.
The military-backed appointment of Yunus to temporarily lead Bangladesh is a remarkable turn of events for the economist. Yunus has spent much of the past few years in Dhaka courts, fighting some 200 charges against him and his associates, including allegations of money laundering and corruption. He and his supporters say Hasina’s government was behind the legal push, perhaps seeing him as a threat to its power. She has denied the allegations.
Yunus, 84, is best known as the founder of Grameen Bank and a pioneer in microcredit, providing small business loans to the world’s poorest people, most of them women. Although he has spent much of his life in the public eye, politics has remained largely uncharted territory. In 2007, Bangladesh’s government collapsed and the military seized power. Yunus, who had never run for office, considered starting a new party to fill the vacuum, but ultimately abandoned the idea within weeks.
“I feel very uncomfortable in politics,” he said in an interview earlier this year.
Yunus brings star power to the role and is a popular choice with many Western governments. His supporters span industries and continents. Over the years, he has built friendships with European royals, business magnates like Richard Branson and the Clintons, who helped Yunus expand his microfinance initiatives to the US. His friends say he is a rare visionary with a genuine commitment to Bangladesh and the upliftment of the poor.
“He is the voice of the people who are left behind,” said Paul Polman, a former CEO of Unilever Plc and a close friend. “He is a moral leader. He is not someone who likes to talk about himself. He likes to talk about the people he serves.”
That reputation has endeared him to many in Bangladesh, including the military, which had previously supported his first foray into politics. After he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006, thousands of Bengalis packed the halls to hear him speak. Many still bow and touch their hearts when they see him. Over the past decade, Yunus has focused on expanding dozens of social enterprises, including those that provide free health care, vocational training and telephone services to poorer Bengalis.
Whether Yunus is diving into politics more deliberately — or simply filling a gap before elections — remains unclear. As protesters flooded the streets of Dhaka in recent weeks, Yunus has spoken out publicly against the violence and characterized Hasina’s crackdown as a threat to democracy — but he has made no mention of ambitions to play a more formal role in forming a new government.
“I am not a politician,” he said in the interview earlier this year. “This is the last thing I will ever do.
First print: 07 Aug 2024 | 07:00 AM IST