Top Members of Muhammad Yunus’s Bangladesh Leadership Team

New Delhi: Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus was sworn in as the head of an interim government in Bangladesh after student-led protests ended the 15-year rule of Sheikh Hasina. The 84-year-old Yunus took an oath as the chief advisor, a role similar to that of a prime minister, at the presidential palace in Dhaka. The ceremony was attended by political and civil society leaders, military generals, and diplomats.

A group of more than a dozen members, known as advisors rather than ministers, also took the oath. This caretaker administration is mainly civilian, with the exception of one retired brigadier-general.

Key Members of the Interim Government

The Muhammad Yunus-led interim government includes a 16-member council of advisors, tasked with leading Bangladesh during this crisis and overseeing the transition to an elected government. Some of the key members are:

• Brigadier General (retd) M Sakhawat Hossain: A retired military officer.
• Farida Akhtar: A women’s rights activist.
• AFM Khalid Hossain: Deputy chief of the right-wing party Hefazat-e-Islam.
• Nurjahan Begum: A trustee of Grameen Telecom.
• Sharmeen Murshid: A freedom fighter.
• Supradip Chakma: Chairman of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Board.
• Prof Bidhan Ranjan Roy: An academic.
• Touhid Hossain: Former foreign secretary.
• Nahid Islam and Asif Mahmud: Two leaders of the Students Against Discrimination group, which led the protests against Sheikh Hasina’s government.

Violent Protests in Bangladesh

The interim government was formed after weeks of violent protests in Bangladesh. These protests led to the resignation and escape of Sheikh Hasina, the five-time prime minister, to India. The unrest began before the January 7 elections, which were won by Hasina’s party, but were widely seen as unfair.

The protests intensified in June after a court reinstated a 30% job reservation for families of freedom fighters from Bangladesh’s 1971 War of Independence. The Supreme Court later reduced the quota, but Hasina’s handling of the situation angered students. Over 450 people have died in the protests so far, with students demanding Hasina step down. On Monday, as thousands of students marched towards her residence, Hasina resigned and fled to India.

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