Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus will head an interim government in Bangladesh after former prime minister Sheikh Hasina stepped down and fled the country amid a mass uprising against her rule led mostly by students.

The announcement early on Wednesday came from Joynal Abedin, the press secretary of President Mohammed Shahabuddin. Mr Abedin spoke to The Associated Press over the phone.

Mr Abedin also said that the other members of the Yunus-led government would be decided soon after discussion with political parties and other stakeholders.

The leaders of the student protests, the chiefs of the country’s three divisions of the military and civil society members, as well as some business leaders, held a meeting with the president for more than five hours late on Tuesday to decide on the head of the interim administration.

The students had earlier proposed Mr Yunus and said he agreed. He is expected to return to the country from Paris soon, local media reported.

Following the decision, student leaders left the president’s official house shortly after midnight on Tuesday.