Nobel laureate and economist Muhammad Yunus, PhD’71, was recently chosen by President Mohammed Shahabuddin to lead an interim government in Bangladesh. Yunus returned to his native country on Thursday, Aug. 8, after weeks of student-led protests. He met with Shahabuddin and army chief Gen. Waker-Uz-Zaman before taking his oath. Sixteen other people have been appointed to the interim Cabinet, including civilian members and two of the student protest leaders.
Yunus, 84, was born in the Chittagong District of Bangladesh, and he studied at Dhaka University before moving on to a career teaching economics at Chittagong University from 1961 to 1965. He later received a Fulbright Scholarship to study economics at Vanderbilt, and he earned his doctorate in economics there in 1971. He taught at Middle Tennessee State University before returning to Bangladesh in 1972 to become the chairman of the Department of Economics at Chittagong University. There, he developed the concept of banking for the poor and launched Grameen Bank, an internationally recognized model for combating poverty through micro-lending.
“We in the Vanderbilt community are incredibly proud of Dr. Muhammad Yunus. He is not only a first-rate economist, but also a highly compassionate individual who has dedicated his entrepreneurial talents to doing work that has made a major difference in the lives of people across the developing world,” said Kamal Saggi, chair of the Department of Economics at Vanderbilt. “By founding Grameen Bank and launching the microcredit revolution in finance, he has shown the world how financial innovation can promote economic development. It is only fitting that his homeland, Bangladesh, is now looking for him to lead the way forward.”
Yunus has been awarded the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom and the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal. He was also awarded Vanderbilt’s Nichols-Chancellor’s Medal—a recognition of persons who define the 21st century and exemplify the best qualities of the human spirit—in 2007, along with a $100,000 prize.
As is tradition for Nichols-Chancellor’s Medalists, Yunus delivered the keynote speech at a ceremony for the graduating class the day before Commencement in 2007. In his speech, Yunus reflected on his seven years at Vanderbilt and the significant role the university played in his life. He credits that time with helping him build the courage to return home to Bangladesh in 1972—a move that would eventually lead to his development of the micro-lending model that helped address poverty and famine in Bangladesh. “Vanderbilt has made me bold, made me dare,” Yunus said. “Without that, I wouldn’t have been able to do the things I did when I left.”