Poor Man's Banker To Leading Bangladesh: Muhammad Yunus's Journey

Bangladesh is pinning its hopes on one of the nation's most acclaimed intellectuals to bring stability to a country scarred by coups and political upheaval.

Muhammad Yunus, whose work alleviating poverty won him a Nobel Peace Prize, was named the head of a new interim government on Tuesday following the sudden ouster of Sheikh Hasina as prime minister this week. Though he's mostly stayed away from politics, Yunus is one of Bangladesh's most famous faces and brings considerable clout with Western elites.

Restoring normalcy to Bangladesh won't be a small feat for Yunus. Over the past few weeks, clashes between protesters and security personnel cost the lives of more than 300 people, one of the worst outbreaks of violence in the South Asian nation's history. And while Hasina lifted millions out of poverty through garment exports, economic growth has lately stalled in Bangladesh, 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. Over the past couple of years, Yunus has spent much of his time inside Dhaka's courtrooms, fighting about 200 charges against him and his associates, including allegations of money laundering and graft. He and his supporters say Hasina's government was behind the legal pressure and perhaps saw him as a threat to her power. She denied those accusations.

Yunus, 84, is best known for founding Grameen Bank and pioneering microcredit - providing tiny business loans to the world's poorest people, most of them women. Though he's spent much of his life in the public eye, politics is largely unexplored terrain. In 2007, the Bangladeshi government splintered, and the military seized power. Yunus, who'd never run for office, considered forming a new party to fill the vacuum, but ultimately scrapped the idea within a few weeks.

"I feel very uncomfortable with 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's cultivated friendships with European royals, business titans like Richard Branson and the Clintons, who helped Yunus expand his microcredit initiatives to the US. His friends say he's a rare visionary with a genuine commitment to Bangladesh and uplifting the poor.

"He is the voice of the people left behind," said Paul Polman, a former chief executive of Unilever Plc and a close friend. "He's a moral leader. He's not somebody 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 winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006, thousands of Bangladeshis crowded venues just 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 businesses, including ones that offer free health care, vocational training and phone services to poorer Bangladeshis.

Muhammad Yunus in his office in Dhaka.
Photo Credit: Bloomberg

Whether Yunus pivots more deliberately into politics - or simply fills a hole before elections are held - remains unclear. As protesters swarmed Dhaka's streets in recent weeks, Yunus spoke out publicly against the violence and characterized Hasina's crackdown as a threat to democracy - but he made no mention of ambitions to take a more formal role in shaping a new government.

"I'm not a politician," he said in the interview earlier this year. "This is the last thing I will ever do."

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