Maumoon Abdul Gayoom

Maumoon Abdul Gayoom
3rd President of the Maldives 2nd President of the Second Republic
In office 11 November 1978 – 11 November 2008
Preceded by	Ibrahim Nasir
Succeeded by	Mohamed Nasheed
Personal details
Born	(1937-12-29) 29 December 1937 Malé, Maldives
Political party	Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (2008-present) Independent (1978-2008)
Spouse	Nasreena Ibrahim
Children	Dhunya Maumoon Yumna Maumoon Farish Maumoon Ghassan Maumoon

Maumoon Abdul Gayoom (Template:Lang-dv) (born December 29, 1937) was President of the Maldives from 1978 to 2008. After serving as Minister of Transport, he was nominated as President by the Majlis (Parliament) of the Maldives and succeeded Ibrahim Nasir on November 11, 1978. He eventually became the longest-ruling head of government in Asia. After 30 years in office, Gayoom was defeated in the October 2008 presidential election and was succeeded by the opposition leader, Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldivian Democratic Party on November 11, 2008 - exactly 30 years to the day he first came to power. Gayoom also served as the leader of the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party from 2005 to 2010. Remaining as the opposition leader from November 2008 onwards, in January 2010 Gayoom retired from active politics and was bestowed with the title of "Zaeem" (Honorary Leader) by the third congress of the DRP. Gayoom's tenure was marked by allegations of autocratic rule, human rights abuses and corruption, charges that he denies and none of which have been proven.

Career and politics

Education and family life

Gayoom attended Al-Azhar University in Egypt. He spent six months learning Arabic so he could enroll in the Faculty of Sharia and Civil Law to study for a Diploma of Education. In 1966, he obtained his Bachelor's degree, with honors, in Islamic Sharia and Civil Law. Gayoom came out first in the Faculty of Islamic Law and Studies at Al-Azhar University and was awarded his graduation certificate by Gamal Abdel Nasser.He was later awarded a Masters degree in Islamic Sharia. He completed an English Language course from the American University in Cairo.

When fourteen Maldivian students, under Gayoom's direction, sent a signed letter to Prime Minister (later President) Ibrahim Nasir to reconsider his decision to establish diplomatic ties with Israel, their government-awarded grants were stopped. The students were subsequently financed by the Egyptian government. By the time Gayoom acquired his MA in 1966, the Egyptian government had stopped its funding and, as a result, he was unable to complete studies towards his PhD. Later, with his marriage, he decided not to continue with his studies.

As a result of being "blacklisted" by the government for his letter, Gayoom decided not to go home. He spent almost 24 years outside the Maldives except for a brief period in 1964. In 1967, he began working for the American University in Cairo as a research assistant in Muslim History, under Professor Marsden Jones, for almost 2 years.

In 1965, Gayoom met Nasreena Ibrahim, a student who had just arrived in Cairo from the Maldives for her studies. She was then 15 and Gayoom was 27. Four years later, they married in Cairo, on 14 July 1969. A few weeks after his marriage, he joined Ahmadu Bello University in Kano, Nigeria as a lecturer in Islamic Studies and moved there with Nasreena. In 20 March 1970, at the age of 20, Nasreena gave birth to twins, Dhunya Maumoon and Yumna Maumoon. Nasreena went back to Malé when expecting their third child. She gave birth to their first son, Farish, in Malé, on 31 March 1971. Nine years later, during Gayoom's presidency, a second son, Ghassan, was born on 12 June 1980.

During Gayoom's time in Egypt, he had become particularly interested in Egyptian politics. He closely followed the revolutionary movement led by the Muslim Brotherhood and Free Officers Movement of Gamal Abdel Nasser. He attended several public meetings of the Muslim Brotherhood where celebrated orators like Sayyid Qutb railed against Britain, imperialism and King Farouk's government. In July 1952, Gayoom was at the Muslim Brotherhood camp, on holiday, when Gamal Abdel Nasser seized power in a bloodless military coup. In his book A Man for All Islands, biographer Royston Ellis wrote, "Maumoon regarded it as a privilege to be able to hear Sayyed Qutb".

Early career in the Maldives

When his two year contract with Ahmadu Bello University ended, he returned to the Maldives in 1971. Three weeks later, he joined Aminiyya School as a teacher of English, arithmetic and Islam. In 1972, he was appointed as the manager of the government shipping department.

On 12 March 1973, Gayoom was placed under house arrest for criticising President Ibrahim Nasir's policies. He was tried in court and sentenced to banishment for four years on 14 May 1973. On 21 May, he was taken to Makunudhoo Island of Haa Dhaalu Atoll. After serving five months of his sentence, Gayoom was released on 13 October 1973 as a result of an amnesty following Nasir's re-election for a second five-year term.

In 1974, Gayoom was appointed as under-secretary in the Telecommunications Department. After ten weeks, he was promoted to director of the department. During this period, he worked as a part-time teacher in some private schools, teaching Islam, Arabic and English.

On 28 July 1974, Gayoom was again arrested for criticising Nasir's policies. This time he was kept in solitary confinement in a prison in Malé nicknamed 'China Garden' (Chinese fishermen were once detained there). This prison was later demolished in Gayoom's presidency and the Islamic Centre was erected on the site. After 50 days in jail, he was set free in September 1974.

Six weeks later, he was appointed as special under-secretary in the office of then Prime Minister Ahmed Zaki. The post of Prime Minister was abolished with the removal and banishment of Ahmed Zaki from office, on 6 March 1975. With this decision, Gayoom's position disappeared as well and he was notified of his dismissal when he was in Colombo. However, when he returned from Colombo, he was made the Deputy Ambassador of the Maldives in Sri Lanka. In 1975, he was sent to the United Nations for two months as a member of the Maldives delegation, part of the department of External Affairs (as the Foreign Ministry was then called). After nine weeks, he was appointed the Deputy Minister of Transport. One year later, he was tenured at the United Nations from September 1976 to January 1977, until Nasir summoned him back at the end of the UN session. In 29 March 1977, Gayoom was appointed as Minister of Transport, making him a member of Nasir's cabinet. He held the post until 10 November 1978.

Presidency

As Ibrahim Nasir's second term was coming to an end, he decided not to see re-election and. In June 1978, the Citizen's Majlis was called upon to nominate a presidential candidate as required under the then-existing Constitution. There were 45 votes for Nasir (despite his stated intention not to seek re-election), with the remaining 3 votes for Gayoom. Another ballot was therefore called on 16 June, where Gayoom received 27 votes, allowing for his name to be put forward as the sole candidate.

Five months later, he was elected with 92.96% of the votes as the new President of the Maldives. The grand reception of his inauguration was held at Majeediyaa School on the night of 10 November 1978. In a 1983 referendum, he was re-elected on 30 September for a second term, polling a record 95.6%. On 23 September 1988, he was re-elected for a third term with 96.4% of the popular vote. On 1 October 1993, he was elected for a fourth term with 92.76% of the popular vote. On 16 October 1998, Gayoom was elected for an unprecedented fifth term of office, this time with 90.9% of the popular vote. He was last re-elected to a sixth five-year term in October 2003 with 90.28% of the vote. In all cases, he was the sole candidate, having been nominated by the Majlis.

The President of the Maldives is both the Head of Government and Head of State, with very little distinction between the two roles. Therefore, Gayoom was also the Commander-in-Chief of the Maldivian armed forces, the Maldives National Defence Force.

In a 2007 referendum, voters approved a presidential system with direct election of the president, the option favored by Gayoom, rather than a parliamentary system.

Assassination attempt

On 8 January 2008, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom escaped unharmed from an assassination attempt at Hoarafushi by Mohamed Murshid, a twenty-year-old man from the island. Murshid attempted to stab Gayoom with a knife concealed in a Maldives flag. The attempt was foiled when Mohamed Jaisham Ibrahim, a sixteen-year-old Boy Scout from the island, blocked the attack with his bare hands. Jaisham sustained injuries during the intervention and was subsequently treated. Many allege that the attack was planned and staged by Gayoom's campaign team to increase public support ahead of the Presidential Election.

2008 elections

Main article: Maldivian presidential election, 2008

The October 2008 Maldivian presidential election was the first presidential election Maumoon Abdul Gayoom allowed to be contested. Standing as the DRP candidate, Gayoom lost in the election's second round, in which he received 45.75% of the vote against 54.25% for his opponents, MDP's Presidential Candidate Mohamed Nasheed accordingly succeeded Gayoom as President on November 11, 2008, with Gaumee Itthihaad's Candidate Dr. Mohammed Waheed Hassan in the new post of Vice President. Gayoom is now the "Zaeem" (Honorary Leader) of his party.

Criticism

Gayoom has been criticised by Maldivian media and opposition parties as a dictator with his rule described as autocratic. He also has been accused of nepotism, possibly because he had several family members, in-laws and close relatives in high posts of his government and cabinet. According to Amnesty International, in the year 2003 "there were severe restrictions on freedom of the press, and political parties were unable to function."

Gayoom's opponents and international human rights groups have accused him of employing terror tactics against dissident, such as arbitrary arrests, detention without trial, employing torture, forcing confessions and politically motivated killings. There have also been several allegations of corruption. None of these charges against Gayoom have been able to be successfully prosecuted in court, and Gayoom himself has denied them all.

Post Presidency

Maumoon Foundation

Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and his elder son Farish Maumoon have created a foundation called The Maumoon Foundation with the stated aim of helping poor and needy people.

Notable visits and participations

• The first country Gayoom visited as the President was Libya. His visit in September 1979 to Libya was to participate in a celebration held to mark the 10th anniversary of the September Revolution.
• In 1981, Gayoom attended the third Islamic Summit Conference of the Organization of the Islamic Conference held in Saudi Arabia. Since then, he has attended every ISC meeting. These have been in Morocco in 1984, in Kuwait in 1987, in Senegal in 1991, in Morocco in 1994 and in Pakistan in 1997.
• In May 1982, he made state visits to neighboring Asian countries, Singapore and Malaysia.
• His first visit to a western country, as the President, was on 10 May 1982, to London, England.
• In October 1982, he participated in the Commonwealth heads of Government Regional Meetings in Fiji.
• In March 1984, he made a state visit to Sri Lanka to repair the cracked relations of the two countries.
• In 1983, he made a state visit to North Korea. The same year, in October, he made a visit to South Korea. During the latter visit, he was awarded the Grand Order of Mugunghwa. He invested the South Korean President, Chun Doo Hwan, with the Maldivian order of Nishan Izzuddeen.

References

• A Man for All Islands by Royston Ellis - ISBN 981-204-852-9

External links

• Official site of the Presidency of the Maldives
• At the helm for 30 years