Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has declared there is “a lot of work to be done” in Bangladesh, as he arrived in the country to take over as interim leader.
“People are excited,” the 84-year-old told the BBC moments after flying into the capital Dhaka from France on Thursday. He will be sworn in later.
His plane touched down just days after Sheikh Hasina – the woman who ruled Bangladesh with an iron fist for 15 years – fled across the border to India.
She resigned as prime minister after weeks of student-led protests – which left hundreds dead – escalated and culminated in calls for her to stand down.
The decision to name Prof Yunus as chief adviser of the interim government followed a meeting between President Mohammed Shahabuddin, military leaders and student leaders.
The students had been clear they would not accept a military-led government, but wanted Prof Yunus to lead.
The hope is Prof Yunus, the so-called banker for the poor, will bring democracy back to Bangladesh after years of autocratic rule.
On Thursday, he emphasised the need for “discipline” as Bangladesh begins to rebuild.
“Hard work and get it done,” the smiling professor added as he made his way through the airport. “New opportunities have arrived.”
“Today is a glorious day for us,” he later told reporters, adding it was as if “Bangladesh has got a second independence” as he called for the restoration of law and order.
Bangladesh has been thrown into turmoil in recent weeks. More than 400 people are reported to have died after protests demanding the end of a civil service quota system began in June.
Many of those killed died after the Supreme Court backed student demands and largely scrapped the quota system last month.
In more recent weeks, the protests had become an anti-government movement. Students and their supporters had planned to march on the prime minister’s residence on Monday.
But before the march could get properly moving, the news came that Sheikh Hasina had left Bangladesh and resigned as prime minister. She is currently in Delhi.
Prof Yunus paid tribute to those who died, saying they had “protected the nation” and given it “new life” after Ms Hasina’s rule.
She had begun that rule as a symbol of democracy but, by the time she fled, she was considered an autocrat who had sought to entrench her authority by silencing dissent.
Prisons were filled with people who sought to speak out against her. Prof Yunus – lauded for his pioneering use of micro-loans – was one of those who found themselves in legal trouble during her tenure.
Ms Hasina regarded him as a public enemy – he is currently on bail, appealing against a six-month jail term in what he has called a politically-motivated case.
Speaking on Thursday, he called on the country’s young people to help him rebuild the South Asian country.
“Bangladesh can be a beautiful country, but we destroyed the possibilities,” he said.
“Now we have to build a seedbed again – the new seedbed will be built by them,” he added, gesticulating towards the students who had arrived to greet him.