Renowned economist and Nobel Peace prize laureat Muhammad Yunus returned to Bangladesh from France on Thursday to lead an interim government after a student-led uprising ended the 15-year rule of Sheikh Hasina.
Yunus, 84, arrived in Dhaka at 2pm local time on a flight from Paris and could be sworn in as the country's new leader on Thursday evening.
"I'm looking forward to going back home to see what's happening and how we can organise ourselves to get out of the trouble we are in," Yunus said before leaving Paris where he had been overseeing sustainability projects for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Last weekend, military leaders turned on Hasina after several weeks of unrest which began as protests against her plan for privileged access for certain families to civil service jobs but morphed into an anti-government movement.
Hasina, who was accused of rigging last January's elections as well as widespread human rights abuses, resigned on Monday after deploying security forces to quash the demonstrations.
At least 455 people were killed in the unrest, according to statistics compiled by the French news agency AFP which were based on police, government officials and hospital doctors.
Change
On Tuesday, President Mohammed Shahbuddin dissolved parliament amid calls for social change.
Parvez Alam, a writer and activist, said there was a chance for a new Bangladesh to emerge.
"The young people in Bangladesh have been calling for repairing the state for the last 10 years or so, based on core values like equality, human dignity, and social justice," he said.
"The July uprising provides us an opportunity to rebuild our state from the ruins."
Adnan Aziz Chowdhury, a recent graduate and activist at the Bangladesh Student Union, called for the government to create more job opportunities and training for young people.
"The longstanding practices of nepotism and discrimination in recruitment in public and private sector jobs should be eliminated," he said.
Yunus, accompanied by his daughter and grandson, arrived in France on 23 July to promote the schemes involving artisans and small companies in Olympic projects.
As the Paris organisers' go-to guru, he would have been among the guests of honour during the lavish festivities preceding Sunday night's closing ceremony at the Stade de France.
Home
But even on his arrival, the veteran social justice campaigner was preoccupied with events back home which he said overshadowed the inauguration of a square in northern Paris bearing his name.
"It's not just for me and my family," said Yunus. "It's for all of the people in Bangladesh to see that something like this can happen in Paris. "It's a shame that such a celebration happens with all that is going on at home," he added.
But just over two weeks after leaving Bangladesh fearing further bloodshed, Yunus, who won the Nobel Prize in 2006 for his pioneering work in microfinancing work, goes back with an opportunity to be the architect of sustained peace.
"I am certain that Yunus will be able to take us through a beautiful democratic process," said army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman.
Political vacuum
During the political vacuum, the military agreed to student demands that Yunus lead an interim government.
Revered for his socially dynamic financing theories, Yunus has continually asserted his unwillingness to hold political office.
One of his immediate roles will be to harmonise the disparate factions and produce a viable plan to maintain his reputation and ensure the country of 170 million million people moves towards a more inclusive stability.
"The country really had been at risk of becoming a one party state," said International Crisis Group analyst Thomas Kean.
"The protests are a seismic moment in Bangladesh history and through a peaceful street-based movement led by Gen Z students in their 20s, they've managed to force Hasina from power."
Before Yunus arrived, the head of the police force, which protesters have blamed for leading Hasina's crackdown, was sacked.
The new chief, Mainul Islam, offered an apology for the conduct of officers and vowed a fair and impartial investigation into the killings of protesters.
Khaleda Zia, the former prime minister and chairman of the Bangladesh National party was also released from years of house arrest along with dozens of other poltical prisoners.
