Muhammad Yunus, the man who once handed out tiny loans to struggling farmers, is now leading Bangladesh as its caretaker prime minister. At 84, he’s seen it all – fame, jail time, political drama and even a Nobel prize. But now, as the country moves past the Sheikh Hasina era, it’s Yunus who’s in charge.
Born in 1940 in Chittagong, Yunus traveled to the US on a Fulbright scholarship and earned a Ph.D. in economics by 1969. But his real turning point came after Bangladesh’s deadly famine in 1972. He started giving out small loans—without asking for much, or anything, in return.
By 1983, Yunus made it official by launching Grameen Bank, turning him into the face of micro-lending. His efforts lifted millions out of poverty, making him a global hero. By 2006, he had handed out a staggering $6 billion in loans to struggling students, women, and even the homeless. The world took notice, and he bagged the Nobel Peace Prize.
But things took a dark turn in 2007 when Yunus thought about entering politics. That put him directly in the path of Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh’s longtime leader. She didn’t just push back—she went all out. He was thrown out of his own bank, hit with lawsuits, and even jailed. Hasina went as far as calling him a “bloodsucker of the poor.”
He kept speaking up against Hasina’s government, even as legal troubles piled up. The charges kept coming—labour law violations, graft accusations, and even wild claims about him being un-Islamic. By early 2024, he was sentenced to six months in prison, though he got bail.
Now, Yunus is leading the country. After weeks of chaos and protests, Hasina resigned and fled, leaving Bangladesh in search of stability. And who better to take the reins than the man who has spent his life fighting for the people?
Muhammad Yunus has come full circle—from a professor to a philanthropist, from a prisoner to the country’s leader.
