Muhammad Yunus

Muhammad Yunus (Bengali: মুহাম্মদ ইউনুস, Romanized: Muhāmmôd Iunūs, pronunciation: [ˈmuɦɐmːod ˈjunus]; June 28, 1940 -), Bangladeshi banker, economist, Nobel Peace Prize winner, and politician. As a professor of economics, Yunus developed the current theory and practice of "microcredit" and "microfinance", and founded Grameen Bank (also translated as Grameen Bank) to provide loans to entrepreneurs who were too poor to obtain traditional bank loans. In 2006, the Nobel Prize Committee awarded him and Grameen Bank the Nobel Peace Prize for "their efforts to promote economic and social development from the bottom of society." Yunus has also received several international honors including the World Food Prize. In 2008, he was listed as one of the "Top 100 Thinkers in the World" by Foreign Policy magazine, ranking second. Yunus served as a member of the United Nations Foundation. In March 2012, the Bangladesh government fired Yunus from his job at Grameen Bank, claiming that he had violated the law and was not of age. Yunus and Grameen Bank appealed the decision, arguing the move was politically motivated. On March 8, Bangladesh's high court upheld the decision. In the same year he became Chancellor of Glasgow Caledonian University. On January 1, 2024, Yunus was sentenced to 6 months in prison by a judge for violating labor laws. Amnesty International said Yunus' conviction was a "blatant abuse" of the justice system. On August 6, 2024, Bangladeshi President Mohammad Sheikhabuddin dissolved Parliament during the Bangladesh Public Service Quota Reform Movement and nominated Yunus as the head of the interim government of Bangladesh following the resignation of then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in accordance with the demands of student groups. Yunus accepted the nomination and was appointed as Bangladesh's chief adviser (i.e. prime minister of the interim government) until new elections are held.