Nobel Laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus
Dr. Muhammad Yunus, the first Nobel Peace Prize winner from Bangladesh, brought great honor and dignity to the nation by receiving the world’s most prestigious award in 2006. He, along with his Grameen Bank, was jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their outstanding contribution to poverty alleviation in Bangladesh and other parts of the world.
The entire nation burst into joy when the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced on October 13 that Dr. Yunus and Grameen Bank were the recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize. It was one of the most glorious and significant moments in the history of Bangladesh since its independence in 1971. By winning the Nobel Prize, Dr. Yunus elevated the image of Bangladesh in the eyes of the world. The country earned global respect and admiration through this historic achievement.
Known as the “banker to the poor,” Dr. Yunus transformed the lives of many rural poor people, especially women, by offering them microcredit. The aim of his microcredit program is to make the poor self-reliant by helping them start small income-generating activities, ultimately improving their standard of living. He strongly believes that true peace and stability in society are only possible when people are free from the chains of poverty.
His Grameen Bank plays a vital role in this mission. The bank provides small loans to underprivileged people who cannot access traditional banking services. With these loans, many poor people have started small businesses such as poultry farming, cow rearing, and fish cultivation. Thousands of rural families, once trapped in poverty, have changed their lives through support from Grameen Bank.
Dr. Muhammad Yunus was born in 1940 in Chattogram. He completed his B.A. and M.A. in Economics from Dhaka University. Later, he earned a Ph.D. in Economics from Vanderbilt University in the USA.
Dr. Yunus is a true pride of Bangladesh. His efforts to fight poverty through innovative and compassionate means continue to inspire the whole world.
