Key members of Bangladesh interim government

Bangladesh's Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus on Thursday took oath as the head of an interim government, days after student-led protests ended the 15-year rule of Sheikh Hasina.

The 84-year-old was sworn in as the chief advisor - a position equivalent to prime minister. He swore to "uphold, support and protect the constitution", in front of political and civil society leaders, generals and diplomats at the presidential palace in the capital Dhaka.

More than a dozen members of his cabinet -- given the title of advisers, not ministers -- also took the oath. The caretaker administration is a civilian team, bar one retired brigadier-general.

Bangladesh Interim Government members

A 16-member council of advisers was announced in the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government, which will lead the crisis-stricken Bangladesh for a certain period and oversee the election to transition power to an elected government.

Brigadier General (retd) M Sakhawat Hossain, women's rights activist Farida Akhtar, right-wing party Hefazat-e-Islam's deputy chief AFM Khalid Hossain, Grameen Telecom trustee Nurjahan Begum, freedom fighter Sharmeen Murshid, chairman of Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Board Supradip Chakma, Prof Bidhan Ranjan Roy and former foreign secretary Touhid Hossain are also among the advisory council members.

Besides Md Nazrul Islam, Adilur Rahman Khan, AF Hassan Ariff, Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Supradip Chakma and Farooq-e-Azam, the group also included two top leaders of the Students Against Discrimination group that led the weeks-long protests against the Sheikh Hasina government, Nahid Islam and Asif Mahmud.