Bangladesh’s interim leader Yunus sworn in, seeks peace and prepares for elections

The key tasks for Yunus now are restoring peace in Bangladesh and preparing for new elections following weeks of violence in which student activists led an uprising against what was considered Hasina’s increasingly autocratic 15-year rule.

Bangladesh’s figurehead President Mohammed Shahabuddin administered the oath to Yunus for his role as chief adviser, which is the equivalent to a prime minister, in presence of foreign diplomats, civil society members, top businessmen and members of the former opposition party at the presidential palace in Dhaka. No representatives of Hasina’s party were present.

Sixteen other people have been included in the interim Cabinet with members drawn mainly from civil society and including two of the student protest leaders.

Hasina quit on Monday after several chaotic weeks that began in July with protests against a quota system for government jobs that critics said favoured people with connections to Hasina’s party.

But the demonstrations soon grew into a bigger challenge for Hasina’s 15-year rule as more than 300 people including students were killed amid spiralling violence.

Yunus, who was awarded the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for his work developing microcredit markets, was in the French capital for the 2024 Olympics when he was chosen for the interim role, and returned home earlier Thursday to tight security at the airport in Dhaka.

In his first comments after his arrival, he told a news briefing that his priority would be to restore order. “Bangladesh is a family. We have to unite it,” Yunus said, flanked by student leaders. “It has immense possibility.”

On Wednesday in Paris, Yunus had called for calm and an end to all partisan violence.

Hasina’s son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, who acts as an adviser to