STUDY OF A REAL LEADER

Essay by desakiUniversity, Master's February 2008

download word file, 14 pages 3.0

Muhammad Yunus, born in June 28, 1940 is a Bangladeshi banker and economist. A former professor of economics, he is famous for his successful application of the concept of micro credit, the extension of small loans to entrepreneurs too poor to qualify for traditional bank loans. Yunus is also the founder of Grameen Bank. In 2006, Yunus and the bank were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, "for their efforts to create economic and social development from below". Yunus himself has received several other national and international honours. He is the author of Banker to the Poor and a founding board member of Grameen Foundation. In early 2007 Yunus showed interest in launching a political party in Bangladesh named Nagorik Shakti (Citizen Power), but later discarded the plan. He is one of the founding members of Global Elders.

His father was Hazi Dula Mia Shoudagar, a jeweler, and his mother was Sofia Khatun.

His early childhood years were spent in the village. In 1944, his family moved to the city of Chittagong, and he was shifted to Lamabazar Primary School. Later, he passed the matriculation examination from Chittagong Collegiate School securing the 16th position among 39,000 students in East Pakistan. In 1957, he enrolled in the department of economics at Dhaka University and completed his BA in 1960 and MA in 1961. Following his graduation, Yunus joined the Bureau of Economics as a research assistant. Later he was appointed as a lecturer in economics in Chittagong College in 1961. He was offered a Fulbright scholarship in 1965 to study in the United States. He obtained his Ph. D. in economics from Vanderbilt University in the United States through the graduate program in Economic Development in 1969. From 1969 to 1972, Yunus was an assistant professor of economics at Middle Tennessee...