After his appointment as Prime Minister, Muhammad Yunus vows to take up the challenge of a return to democracy

Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus and his new caretaker government vowed Friday, August 9, to take on the difficult challenge of returning the country to democracy after a student uprising and deadly mass protests that forced ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina into exile.

After promising to “to uphold, support and protect the constitution” As he took office, Muhammad Yunus, 84, paid tribute to the heroes of Bangladesh’s independence on Friday, his first act as head of the interim government. “The number one challenge is law and order,” Touhid Hossain, who took over as foreign minister, told reporters.

Muhammad Yunus wrote this week in The Economist that his country needed a new generation of leaders “who are not obsessed with settling scores”. For Syeda Rizwana Hasan, an environmental activist and lawyer appointed to oversee climate change cases, the transition offers a chance to change the country’s political course to put it “on the path to a truly liberal democracy”.