The Nobel Prize winner and long-time foe of Sheikh Hasina, is credited with lifting millions of people out of poverty by providing microfinancing <\/p>\n
Nobel laureate<\/a> Muhammad Yunus has been chosen to head the Bangladesh\u2019s interim government after the nation\u2019s longtime prime minister resigned and fled abroad in the face of violent unrest against her rule.<\/p>\n Known as the \u201cbanker to the poorest of the poor\u201d and a longtime critic of the ousted Sheikh Hasina<\/a>, Yunus will act as a caretaker premier until new elections are held. The decision followed a meeting late Tuesday that included student protest leaders, military leaders, civil society members and business leaders.<\/p>\n Hasina was forced to flee on Monday after weeks of protests<\/a> and her departure has plunged Bangladesh into a political crisis. The army has temporarily taken control, but it is unclear what its role would be in an interim government after the president dissolved parliament on Tuesday<\/a> to pave the way for elections.<\/p>\n Student leaders who organised the protests had wanted Yunus, who is now in Paris for the Olympics as an adviser to its organisers, to lead an interim government.<\/p>\n He could not immediately be reached by the Associated Press for comment, but key student leader Nahid Islam said that Yunus agreed to step in during a discussion with them.<\/p>\n