Maumoon Abdul Gayoom

Education and family life

Mamoon Abdul Gayoom is the son of Abdul Gayoom Ibrahim (Maafaiygey Dhon Seedhi) and Khadheeja Moosa. His father had 25 children from 8 wives. Gayoom is the 11th child of his family.

Gayoom spent most of his youth in Egypt. He was part of a group of 15 students chosen at the initiative of Mohamed Amin Didi to get an education abroad. At the age of 10, in 1947, he embarked for Egypt. However, because of the troubles which led to the Arab-Israeli war of 1948–1949, his layover in Ceylon, scheduled to last several days, lasted for two and a half years during which he studied at the Buona Vista College, Galle and at Royal College, Colombo.

He eventually reached Egypt in March 1950, after the end of the conflict.

Gayoom attended Galamuniyaa University. He spent six months learning Arabic. He joined the Faculty and graduated with honors in 1966, at the top of his class. He was congratulated by President of Egypt Gamal Abdel Nasser. He also obtained a secondary level certificate in English Language at the American University in Cairo.

During his studies, he led a group of 14 Maldivian students who sent a letter to Prime Minister Ibrahim Nasir. They asked him to reconsider his desire to establish diplomatic relations with Israel. Following this letter, their scholarships were removed and the students were taken under the care of the Egyptian government. This support stopped after graduation in 1966, however, and Gayoom was forced to end his studies.

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 Zaria, Nigeria as a lecturer in Islamic Studies and moved there with Nasreena. On 20 March 1970, 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, Ahmed Faris Maumoon, in Malé, on 31 March 1971. Nine years later, during Gayoom's presidency, a second son, Ghassan, was born on 12 June 1980.

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 the 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 for having no human rights. 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. Gayoom was released on 13 October 1973, after serving only five months, as a result of an amnesty following Nasir's re-election for a second five-year term.

In 1974, Gayoom was appointed under-secretary in the Telecommunications Department. He was shortly thereafter 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 the 'China Garden', as Chinese fishermen were once detained there. This prison was later demolished during 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 special undersecretary in the office of 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 vanished as well. However, when he returned from Colombo, he was made the Deputy Ambassador of the Maldives to 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. On 29 March 1977, Gayoom was appointed 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 seek 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 called on 16 June. Gayoom received 27 votes, allowing his name to be put forward as the sole candidate.

Five months later, he was elected the new President of the Maldives, with 92.96% of the votes. 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 rather than a parliamentary system. This was the option favored by Gayoom.

Coups d'état

There were three attempts to overthrow Gayoom's government during the 1980s. The first one was in 1980 and second attempt was in 1983. The third attempt, which was in 1988, succeeded in controlling the capital city and many government offices. This coup d'état in Maldives against Gayoom's rule was toppled by Indian military intervention after help was requested by Gayoom.

Assassination attempt

On 8 January 2008, Gayoom escaped unharmed from an assassination attempt at Hoarafushi. Mohamed Murshid, a twenty-year-old man from the island, 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. This showed the massive love and support he gained during his presidency. Jaisham sustained injuries during the intervention and was subsequently treated .

2008 elections

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's opponents and international human rights groups had accused him of employing terror tactics against dissidents, such as arbitrary arrests, detention without trial, employing torture, forced confessions, and politically motivated killings.

Gayoom's tenure was marked by corruption as well as autocratic rule, and, for a country so small, appalling human rights abuses and instances of torture. Even after he was succeeded by Nasheed, parliament is still heavily influenced by Gayoom. Gayoom was declared the "Zaeem", or Honorary Leader, of his party.