One year ago this month, thousands of Bangladesh’s bravest and most determined students, backed by countless others from all segments of our society, ended a dark chapter in our nation’s history. Through peaceful protests, brutally repressed until the very end, they forced an autocrat to flee the country on August 5.

In the power vacuum that followed, student leaders urged me to lead an interim government tasked with stabilizing the nation and charting a path to democratic renewal. I initially declined. But when they insisted, I reflected on the lives and limbs they and so many other young people had sacrificed. I could not walk away.

On August 8, 2024 I was sworn in alongside a cabinet of policy specialists and civil society leaders.

What began as a seemingly simple demand — to ensure

See Full Page