Dr Muhammad Yunus
Dr. Muhammad Yunus born 28 June 1940 is a Bangladeshi economist, entrepreneur, civil society leader and statesman who has been serving as the fifth chief adviser of Bangladesh since 8 August 2024. Yunus pioneered the modern concept of microcredit and microfinance, for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 as the first Bangladeshi to win the Nobel Peace Prize and he is also the founder of Grameen Bank. Born in Hathazari, Chittagong, Yunus passed his matriculation and intermediate examinations from Chittagong Collegiate School and Chittagong College, respectively. He completed his BA from University of Dhaka and joined as a lecturer in Chittagong College. He obtained his PhD in economics from Vanderbilt University in the United States. After the devastating famine of 1974, Yunus started to work on poverty elevation in Bangladesh. He began experimenting with microfinance in the late 1970s. In 1983, the Grameen Bank was established. The success of the Grameen microfinance model inspired similar efforts in about 100 developing countries and even in developed countries including the United States. Yunus was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for founding the Grameen Bank and pioneering the concepts of microcredit and microfinance. Yunus has received several other national and international honors, including the United States Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 2010.