DHAKA: Bangladesh's new Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed has been sworn into office after his predecessor Obaidul Hassan, a loyalist of toppled premier Sheikh Hasina, quit following protesters demands, a presidential official said on Sunday.
Ahmed, the senior-most high court judge, was sworn into office by President Mohammed Shahabuddin. He became the 25th chief justice of Bangladesh, the president's press secretary Shiplu Zaman told AFP. He was studied at the University of Dhaka, Oxford and Tufts University in the United States.
Sheikh Hasina, 76, fled by helicopter to neighbouring India on Monday as protesters flooded Dhaka's streets in a dramatic end to her iron-fisted rule. Her government was accused of widespread human rights abuses including the extrajudicial killing of thousands of her political opponents over her 15-year rule.
Cabinet ministers left blindsided by her sudden fall have gone to ground. At the same time, several top appointees have been forced out of office -- including the national police chief and the central bank governor.
Ahmed's predecessor Obaidul Hassan on Saturday became the latest to announce his departure, after hundreds of protesters gathered outside the court to demand his resignation. It is the latest in a string of fresh appointments to replace an old guard viewed as linked to the previous regime, ousted by the student-led uprising.
Hassan was appointed last year. During his tenure, he oversaw a much-criticised war crimes tribunal that ordered the execution of Hasina's opponents.
Bangladesh's interim leader, Nobel laureate, Muhammad Yunus, 84, had returned from Europe this week to lead a temporary administration facing the monumental challenge of ending disorder and enacting democratic reforms.
Yunus won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his pioneering work in microfinance, credited with helping millions of Bangladeshis out of grinding poverty.
He took charge on Thursday as "chief advisor" to a caretaker administration, comprised of fellow civilians bar one retired brigadier-general. He said that he wants to hold elections "within a few months" and the restoration of law and order is the caretaker administration's "first priority.