Muhammad Yunus (born 28 June 1940) is a Bangladeshi economist, entrepreneur, politician, and civil society leader, who has been serving as Chief Adviser (interim head of government) of the interim government of Bangladesh since 8 August 2024. Yunus was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for founding the Grameen Bank and pioneering the concepts of microcredit and microfinance. Yunus has received several other national and international honors, including the United States Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 2010.
In 2012, Yunus became Chancellor of Glasgow Caledonian University in Scotland, a position he held until 2018. Previously, he was a professor of economics at Chittagong University in Bangladesh. He published several books related to his finance work. He is a founding board member of Grameen America and Grameen Foundation, which support microcredit. Yunus also served on the board of directors of the United Nations Foundation, a public charity to support UN causes, from 1998 to 2021. In 2022, He partnered with Global Esports Federation as part of the Esports for Development (E4D) movement to support the development of Esports.
Following the overthrow of Sheikh Hasina, President Mohammed Shahabuddin gave Yunus a mandate to form an interim government, acceding to calls from student leaders for his appointment. His government has appointed a Constitutional Reform Commission to draft a revision to the Constitution of Bangladesh and has pledged the convocation of a constituent assembly. His acquittal on appeal the following day of charges of labour code violations, which were viewed as politically motivated, facilitated his return to the country and appointment. His name was listed in The 500 Most Influential Muslims in 2024. (Full article...)