In the wake of the unprecedented student-led revolution in Bangladesh that culminated in the fall of the autocratic regime led by Sheikh Hasina and the installation of an interim government led by Professor Muhammad Yunus, people throughout the world have been expressing their excitement and willingness to support the new regime and the Bangladeshi people. Students around the world have drawn inspiration from the courage displayed by their peers in Bangladesh, and mourned those who were lost in the struggle for freedom. Now, 198 global leaders including 92 Nobel laureates and Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States, have added their own message of congratulations and support. The statement below was released on September 4, 2024 online, in a full-page ad in the Washington Post, and through a press release. Citizens who want to signal their own solidarity with the interim government in Bangladesh and the Bangladeshi people can add their names to those of the global leaders by clicking here.
A Message to the People of Bangladesh and Citizens of Goodwill Throughout the World
We the undersigned are excited to publicly share our congratulations and heartfelt good wishes to Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, the new interim Prime Minister of Bangladesh. Professor Yunus, like others in Bangladesh, has suffered under the yoke of autocracy. Today, thanks to the power of a democratic and student-led protest, that autocracy has been replaced by hope. As Professor Yunus has said, Bangladesh is now enjoying its second liberation, and it has the chance to fulfill its great potential as a nation. We have been proud to have supported Professor Yunus over the years. It is the beginning of an exciting new dawn for Bangladesh, and we wish him and the people of Bangladesh peace and success in the months and years ahead. We are excited to see Professor Yunus finally free to work for the uplift of the entire country, especially the most marginalized, a calling he has pursued with great vigor and success across six decades. Just as the nation’s young people have inspired him, we know that he will inspire them to play a leadership role in bringing a bright new future to Bangladesh. We are also confident that he will inspire millions of young people around the world, including those in the Bangladeshi diaspora, to improve society for the better. We applaud the interim government’s commitment to bring free and fair elections back to Bangladesh and its commitment to allowing democracy to flourish. We stand ready to help in any way we can to support the efforts of Bangladesh and the interim government to lead the world in creating a new and better civilization, as Professor Yunus has repeatedly called for.
Signed,
Nobel Laureates
Peace
Barack H. Obama, Peace, 2009
H.E. José Ramos Horta, Peace, 1996
Mairead Corrigan-Maguire, Peace, 1976
Shirin Ebadi, Peace, 2003
Mohamed ElBaradei, Peace, 2005
Leymah Roberta Gbowee, Peace, 2011
Albert Arnold Gore Jr., Peace, 2007
Tawakkol Karman, Peace, 2011
Nadia Murad, Peace, 2018
Denis Mukwege, Peace, 2018
Dmitry Muratov, Peace, 2021
Oscar Arias Sanchez, Peace, 1987
Juan Manuel Santos, Peace, 2016
Jody Williams, Peace, 1997
Chemistry
Thomas R. Cech, Chemistry, 1989
Emmanuelle Charpentier, Chemistry, 2020
Aaron Ciechanover, Chemistry, 2004
Johann Deisenhofer, Chemistry, 1988
Gerhard Ertl, Chemistry, 2007
Joachim Frank, Chemistry, 2017
Richard Henderson, Chemistry, 2017
Roald Hoffmann, Chemistry, 1981
Robert Huber, Chemistry, 1988
Martin Karplus, Chemistry, 2013
Brian K. Kobilka, Chemistry, 2012
Roger D. Kornberg, Chemistry, 2006
Yuan T. Lee, Chemistry, 1986
Robert J. Lefkowitz, Chemistry, 2012
Michael Levitt, Chemistry, 2013
Hartmut Michel, Chemistry, 1988
Paul L. Modrich, Chemistry, 2015
William E. Moerner, Chemistry, 2014
John C. Polanyi, Chemistry, 1986
Jean-Pierre Sauvage, Chemistry, 2016
Richard R. Schrock, Chemistry, 2005
Sir John E. Walker, Chemistry, 1997
Arieh Warshel, Chemistry, 2013
Sir M. Stanley Whittingham, Chemistry, 2019
Sir Gregory P. Winter, Chemistry, 2018
Economics
Finn E. Kydland, Economics, 2004
Eric S. Maskin, Economics, 2007
Christopher A. Pissarides, Economics, 2010
Joseph E. Stiglitz, Economics, 2001
Literature
- M. Coetzee, Literature, 2003
Elfriede Jelinek, Literature, 2004
Herta Muller, Literature, 2009
Wole Soyinka, Literature, 1986
Medicine
Werner Arber, Medicine, 1978
David Baltimore, Medicine, 1975
Francoise Barre-Sinoussi, Medicine, 2008
Mario R. Capecchi, Medicine, 2007
- Robert Horvitz, Medicine, 2002
Sir Michael Houghton, Medicine, 2020
Tim Hunt, Medicine, 2001
Louis J. Ignarro, Medicine, 1998
William G. Kaelin Jr., Medicine, 2019
Barry J. Marshall, Medicine, 2005
Craig C. Mello, Medicine, 2006
Edvard Moser, Medicine, 2014
May-Britt Moser, Medicine, 2014
Charles M. Rice, Medicine, 2020
Sir Richard J. Roberts, Medicine, 1993
Michael Rosbash, Medicine, 2017
Randy W. Schekman, Medicine, 2013
Gregg L. Semenza, Medicine, 2019
Thomas C. Sudhof, Medicine, 2013
Jack W. Szostak, Medicine, 2009
Harold E. Varmus, Medicine, 1989
Eric F. Wieschaus, Medicine, 1995
Torsten N. Wiesel, Medicine, 1981
Physics
Hiroshi Amano, Physics, 2014
Barry Clark Barish, Physics, 2017
Steven Chu, Physics, 1997
Andre Geim, Physics, 2010
Sheldon Glashow, Physics, 1979
David J. Gross, Physics, 2004
Takaaki Kajita, Physics, 2015
Wolfgang Ketterle, Physics, 2001
Ferenc Krausz, Physics, 2023
Anthony J. Leggett, Physics, 2003
John C. Mather, Physics, 2006
Michel Mayor, Physics, 2019
Konstantin Novoselov, Physics, 2010
Roger Penrose, Physics, 2020
William D. Phillips, Physics, 1997
- David Politzer, Physics, 2004
Donna Strickland, Physics, 2018
Kip Stephen Thorne, Physics, 2017
Carl E. Wieman, Physics, 2001
Robert Woodrow Wilson, Physics, 1978
David J. Wineland, Physics, 2012
Elected Officials & Business and Civil Society Leaders
Rza Aliyev, Senior Advisor to the Nizami Ganjavi International Center
Joyce Banda, President of Malawi 2012-2014
Fábio Colletti Barbosa, UN Foundation Board Member
Marc Benioff, Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer, Salesforce
Kjell Magne Bondevik, Prime Minister of Norway 1997-2000, 2001-2005
Sir Richard Branson, Founder, Virgin Group
Gro Brundtland, Former Prime Minister of Norway, Former Director-General WHO
Sharan Burrow, Former General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation
Kathy Calvin, UN Foundation Board Member
Hikmet Cetin, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey 1991-1994, Speaker of the Grand National Assembly 1997-1999
Julio Cobos, Vice President of Argentina 2007-2011
Emil Constantinescu, President of Romania 1996-2000
Elizabeth M. Cousens, President & CEO, UN Foundation
Mirko Cvetkovic, Prime Minister of Serbia 2008-2012
Sam Daley-Harris, Founder, RESULTS and Civic Courage
Lt. Gen. (Rtd.) Roméo Dallaire, Founder, Dallaire Institute for Children, Peace and Security
Abigail E. Disney, Filmmaker
Susan Elliott, President & CEO National Committee on American Foreign Policy
Maria Fernanda Espinosa, President of the 73rd Session of the UN General Assembly; Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ecuador 2017-2018; Minister of Defense 2012-2014
Emmanuel Faber, Chair, International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB)
Benita Ferrero-Waldner, Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs of Austria 2000-2004; European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighborhood Policy 2004-2009; European Commissioner for Trade and European Neighborhood Policy 2009-2010
Christiana Figueres, Founding Partner, Global Optimism
Vicente Fox, Former President of Mexico
Ron Garan, Former NASA Astronaut
Kul Gautam, Former Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF and Assistant Secretary General of the UN
Ryan Gellert, CEO, Patagonia
Pamela Gillies, Former Vice Chancellor and Professor Emerita, Glasgow Caledonian University
Peter C. Goldmark Jr., Former CEO Rockefeller Foundation and International Herald Tribune
Justice Richard Goldstone, South African Former Judge and Former Chief Prosecutor of the UN International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda
Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE, Founder, the Jane Goodall Institute & UN Messenger of Peace
Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, President of Croatia 2015-2020
Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, President of Mauritius 2015-2018
John Hewko, CEO, Rotary International
Andre Hoffmann, Vice Chair, Roche Holding AG
Chad Holliday, Chair, Mission Possible Partnership
Arianna Huffington, Founder and CEO, Thrive Global
Mo Ibrahim, Entrepreneur and Philanthropist
Ilaha Ibrahimli, Deputy Secretary General Nizami Ganjavi International Center
Ekmeleddin Ihsanoghlu, Secretary-General OIC 2004-2014
Mladen Ivanic, President of Bosnia and Herzegovina 2014-2018
Ivo Josipovic, President of Croatia 2010-2015
Ilham Kadri, CEO, Syensqo
Mats Karlsson, Former Vice President of the World Bank
Baroness Helena Kennedy, KC, Member of the House of Lords UK
Ted Kennedy Jr.
Kerry Kennedy, President, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights
Joseph D. Kenner
Vinod Khosla, Venture Capitalist
Ban Ki-moon, 8th Secretary General of the United Nations
Csaba Korosi, 77th President of the UN General Assembly
Jadranka Kosor, Prime Minister of Croatia 2009-2011
Leonid Kuchma, President of Ukraine 1994-2005
Aleksandr Kwasniewski, President of Poland 1995-2005
Zlatko Lagumdižja, Prime Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina 2001-2002, Deputy Prime Minister 1993-1996, 2012-2015
Guilherme Leal, Co-Founder, Natura Cosmeticos, B Team Leader
Dr. Frannie Léautier, Senior Partner and CEO, Southbridge Group
Annie Lennox, Singer, Songwriter, and Activist
Yves Leterme, Prime Minister of Belgium 2008, 2009-2011
Isabelle de Leyritz, Former CEO, Engie; Co-founder and CEO, Blunomy
Andrew Liveris, Chairman Emeritus and Former CEO, Dow Chemical
Eugene A. Ludwig, Founder and Former CEO and Chairman, Promontory Financial Group; Former U.S. Comptroller of the Currency
Igor Luksic, Prime Minister of Montenegro 2010-2012
Susana Malcorra, Former Foreign Minister of Argentina
Moussa Mara, Prime Minister of Mali 2014-2015
Paul Maritz, Former CEO of VMWare
Rexhep Meidani, President of Albania 1997-2002
Aichatao Mindadaoudou, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Niger 1999-2010; UN Special Representative for Cote d’Ivoire
Hiro Mizuno, UN Special Envoy on Innovative Finance and Sustainable Investments
Juan Carlos Mora, CEO, Bancolombia
Michael Moskow, Former President and CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
Amre Moussa, Secretary-General, Arab League 2001-2011; Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt 1991-2001
Rovshan Muradov, Secretary General Nizami Ganjavi International Center
Joseph Muscat, Prime Minister of Malta 2013-2020
Jean Oelwang, Founding CEO and President, Virgin United
Djoomart Otorbayev, Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan 2014-2015
Dr. Michael Otto, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Otto Group
Milica Pejanovic-Durisic, Minister of Defense of Montenegro 2012-2016
Jan Piercy, Former US Executive Director, The World Bank
Rosen Plevneliev, President of Bulgaria 2012-2017
Paul Polman, Business Leader
Robert Post, Professor of Law, Yale Law School
Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, President of Malta 2014-2019
Donald Riegle, Former U.S. Senator from the State of Michigan; Former Chairman, Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Development
Sir Malcom Rifkind, KC, Former UK Defence Secretary and Foreign Secretary
Rt Hon Lord Robertson of Port Ellen, Former Secretary General, NATO
Mary Robinson, Former President of Ireland
Ellen Seidman, Senior Fellow, Urban Institute
Hedva Ser, Goodwill Ambassador of UNESCO
Ismail Serageldin, Co-Chair Nizami Ganjavi International Center, Vice President of the World Bank 1992-2000
Rosalia Arteago Serrano, President of Ecuador 1997
Wayne Silby, Founder, Calvert Investments
Yeardley Smith, Actress
Petar Stoyanov, President of Bulgaria 1997-2002
Laimdota Straujuma, Prime Minister of Latvia 2014-2016
Dr. David Suzuki, Prof. Emeritus, University of British Columbia
Boris Tadic, President of Serbia 2004-2012
Jewel Howard Taylor, Vice President of Liberia 2018-2024
Ted Turner, Founder and Chair of the UN Foundation Board of Directors; Chairman, Turner Enterprises; Founder, CNN
Cassam Uteem, President of Mauritius 1992-1997
Melanne S. Verveer, Executive Director of the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security at Georgetown University
HE Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, Co-chair Nizami Ganjavi International Center, President of Latvia 1999-2007
Filip Vujanović, President of Montenegro 2003-2018
Jimmy Wales, Co-Founder and Internet Entrepreneur, Wikipedia
Timothy E. Wirth, Former U.S. Senator, Colorado
Antonio Zanardi Landi, Former Diplomatic Adviser to the Italian President; Ambassador of the Military Order of Malta to Vatican
Valdis Zatlers, President of Latvia 2007-2011
Note: A version of this message published in the Washington Post inaccurately referred to signer Joseph D. Kenner as being currently associated with Greyston. We regret the error, which was due entirely to a mistake made by the Protect Yunus Campaign.
Supportive Citizens
Philippe Axus, Saint-Verain, France
Golam Mortaza, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Sabrina Quaraishi, Washington DC, USA
Michael Wirtz, Cologne, Germany
Jason Bajaj, Hong Kong
Nasser Alkahtani, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Mohammad Ullah, Chittagong, Bangladesh
Muhammad Abdullah Al Farabi, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Abdul Kadir, Saarbrücken, Germany
Jayadur Rahman, Sylhet, Bangladesh
Mohammad Zahinul Islam, Dhaka, Bangladesh
MD Siam, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Ketan Raikar, Mumbai, India
MD YUSUF, Buffalo, NY, USA
Shah Kawthar Mustafa Abululayee, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Qudsia Huda, Geneva, Switzerland
Mohammad Nazmul Hassan Bhuiyan, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Naushad Hossain, Fullerton, USA
Mohammad Imtiazur Rahman, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Syed Omar Faruk Towaha, Upmintser, United Kingdom
Faysal Ahmed, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Samiur Rahman, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Shafiqul Islam, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Major Md Yousuf Hossain (Rtd), Nasirnagar, Brahmanbaria, Bangladesh
Mohammad Ferozuddin, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Syed Arif Niazi, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Md. Faysal Hossain, Sonaimuri, Noakhali, Bangladesh
Zia Ashraf, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Md Robiul Islam, Michigan, USA
Mahedi Hasan, Lubbock, USA
Ariful Chowdhury, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Fahim Zubair, Cedar Hill, USA
Md Nazrul Islam, Cumilla, Bangladesh
Prof. Dr. Aziz Akgul, Ankara, Turkey
Farhana Rahman, Marietta, USA
Mian Adnan, Albany, USA
Farhan Khan Chowdhury, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Gafur Abdul, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Md Mostafizur Rahman, Jamaica, USA
Towfique Ahmad Khan, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Rezwan Rahman, Conroe, USA
ASIF RONY, San Marcos, USA
Farzana Khan, Johns creek, USA
Muhammad Mustafa, Austin, USA
Mohammad Shamsul Alam, New York, USA
Md Ahadur Rahman Dawan, Bangladesh
Mohammad Shamsul Alam, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Kerstin Rücker, Wiesbaden, Germany
Tawsif Dowla, Vancouver, Canada
Riyad Hossain, London, United Kingdom
Sadia Sultana, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Javed Helali, Pflugerville, USA
Murtaza Abrar, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Prof Tapan Sarker, Brisbane, Australia
Aranya Syed, London, United Kingdom
Shahriar Anwar, Chandler, USA
Zakia Meraj, Los Angeles, USA
Abdus Sattar, Cupertino, USA
Nawarul Gafur Samin, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Dr. Ishrat Rafique Eshita, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Sakil Saikat, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Sagar Khan, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Mohammad Farhad Hossain, Noakhali, Bangladesh
Dominique V. Dauster, WIESBADEN, Germany
Abdullah Al Nayim, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Anjum Islam, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Iftakhar Bhuiyan, Melbourne, Australia
Shihab Quader, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Nizam U MIAJI, Melbourne, Australia
Kawser Jamal, San Francisco, USA
Shayela Sharmeen, Sutton Coldfield, United Kingdom
Naheed Atiq, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Abedul Hoq Chowdhury, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Asif Hazarika, Sunnyvale, USA
Katrina Dunn, Perth, Australia
Julia Wilson, Del Mar, USA
Yeardley Smith, Los Angeles, USA
Filipe Charters, Lisboa, Portugal
Zabir Solihen Dipro, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Gordon Knowles, Brisbane, Australia
Kayoko Tsuchiya, Tokyo, Japan
Elisabetta Righini, Urbino, Italy
Zubaida Bai, Colorado, USA
Mohammad Imran Hossain, New York, USA
Gafur Abdul, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Mohammed Mominul Haque, Toronto, Canada
Suresh Krishna, Bangalore, India
Farhat Shafi Chowdhury, Sylhet, Bangladesh
Sabrina Scherzer, Trondheim, Norway
Aitor Ojanguren, Madrid, Spain
Malcolm Hayday, Bedar, Spain
Cam Donaldson, Glasgow, United Kingdom
Tarique Choyon, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Marilu Germscheid, Lugano, Switerland
Algis Krupavicius, Kaunas, Lithuania
Marc Tolo, Lawrenceville, USA
Morshed Nasir, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Dr. Azizur Rahman, Toronto, Canada
Sarah Anderson, Tunbridge wells, United Kingdom
Paolo Polidori, Urbino, Italy
Mohammad Saiful Islam, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Afsana Hye, New York, USA
ALICIA HAYDEE JUBERT, LA PLATA, ARGENTINA
Asm Amjad Hossain, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Adnan Zaman, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Sanya Singh, Kanpur, India
Alamgir Hosen, Chuadanga, Bangladesh
Pritha Kabir, Khulna, Bangladesh
Joy Bangla, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Pie Phi, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Azizul Hossain, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Taimur Arif, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Mostafijur Rahman, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Rafin Rahman, Narayanganj, Bangladesh
rafi khan, chattogram, Bangladesh
Shorif Miah, Moulvibazar, Bangladesh
MH Bappi, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Arjun Das, Sunamganj, Bangladesh
Anwar Merchant, Toronto, Canada
MOHAMMED BILLAL HOSSAIN, Jhenaidaho, Bangladesh
Md Razu, Faridpur, Bangladesh
Md Riaz Uddin Kiron, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Humayun Kabir, HAMILTON, Canada
Sakib Hossain, Feni, Bangladesh
Golam Mohiuddin Sifat, cumilla, Bangladesh
Raiyan Rahman, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Md Yousuf Ahmed Emon, Noakhali, Bangladesh
Mamun Hasan, Chattogram, Bangladesh
ASHADUL ISLAM, Lephalale, South Africa
Limon Hasan, Mymensingh, Bangladesh
Humayun Murtada Zaman, Ilford, United Kingdom
Md Azharul Islam, Gazipur, Bangladesh
Shorforaj Shipon, Bogura, Bangladesh
Mark Ocean, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Md Riaz, Barisal, Bangladesh
Tawhid Hasan, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Syed Rafsan Ali, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Gazi Golam Zakaria Jyoti, Dubai, UAE
Shah Mohammad Sharwar Shamim, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Md.Ismail Hossain, chittagong, Bangladesh
Juwel Ahmed, Muscat, Oman
Sven Pastowski, Herzogenaurach, Germany
Labib Ul Hasan, Thakurgaon, Bangladesh
md shohag babu, Sapahar Naogaon, Bangladesh
ahad alam, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Sofikul islam Dipu, Lakshmipur, Bangladesh
Tahsin Sarwar, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Arif Khan, Dhaka, Bangladesh
OMAR FARUQUE, Comilla, Bangladesh
Abdul Halim, Chittagong, Bangladesh
Forhad Hossain, Fukuoka, Japan
Daniel Ayebare, Kampala, Uganda
Rahmat Ali Sagor, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Ariful Haque, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Muhammad Sanuwar, Jawa bazar, chattak, Sunamganj, Bangladesh
MD Saif Ullah, Noakhali, Bangladesh
Md Sabuj Sarker, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Ahasan Habib, Montreal, Canada
Iqbal Uddin, Dhaka, Bangladesh
TAUMIC ISLAM, Gazipur, Bangladesh
Gias Babo, Cumilla, Bangladesh
Mahmud Jaman, Nilphamari, Bangladesh
Nazim Uddin, Saint Malo, France
Humayun Al-Rasheed, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Maliha Mehzabin, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Hasibul Hossain Shanto, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Faysal Ahmed, Parbatipur, Bangladesh
Unni Beate Sekkesæter, Tana, Norway
Anower Solim, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh
Scott Leckman, Salt Lake City, USA
Mili Samira Hossain, Fukuoka, Japan
Sajid Kabir Saji, Chittagong, Bangladesh
Mohammad Yeasin, Chattogram, Bangladesh
Mohammad Ferozuddin, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Nahid Ul Morsaleen, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Marjanah Boksh, London, United Kingdom
Moheshwar Amarnath Biswas, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Farid Uddin Farid Uddin, Chittagong, Bangladesh
Sihab Talukder, Lisbon, Portugal
Md. Firojul Ferdous, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Shahriar Hasan Abir, Chattogram, Bangladesh
Luisa Brunori, Bologna, Italia
MD AKTARUZZAMAN, Dhaka, Bangladesh
