Nobel Laureate Professor Dr Muhammed Yunus has been officially sworn in as head of Bangladesh's interim government.
His appointment follows the resignation of former Prime Minister Sheik Hasina, who fled to India following weeks of violent protests which were started primarily by students.
Yunus arrived back in Bangladesh from an overseas trip on Thursday and was welcomed at Dhaka's Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport by the country's military chief, General Waker-Uz-Zaman, navy and air force leaders and some of the students who led the uprising against Hasina.
He later took an oath at the presidential palace in Dhaka in front of Bangladesh's President Mohammed Shahabuddin and various foreign diplomats, civil society members, top businessmen and members of the former opposition party.
Yunus is a long-time opponent of Sheik Hasina and his appointment as interim leader was proposed by student protesters.
He will take the role of the interim chief advisor to the president, which is the equivalent to a prime minister.
‘A big family'
Before leaving to visit the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, Yunus appealed for calm in Bangladesh amid tensions.
Arriving back in Bangladesh, he said, “the entire country is a big family. We want to walk altogether. We want to shun all indifferences and conflicts among us and bring back those who have been derailed. So, we can work together”.
He urged the leaders of the student movement to help rebuild the country using their creativity, saying “the whole world will learn from you how youngsters can change a country”.
Yunus added that the public should rebuild their trust in the country's law enforcement, after clashes between police and protesters saw almost 300 people dying.
The protests were sparked by the implementation of a quota system for government jobs that critics said favoured people with connections to Hasina's party.
The demonstrations soon grew into a broader challenge to Hasina's 15-year-rule following the deaths of protesters involved.
