Maumoon Abdul Gayoom (; ; born 29 December 1937) is a Maldivian politician who served as the President of 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 in 1978. He was defeated in the October 2008 presidential election. In opposition, he continued to serve as leader of the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party until January 2010, when he retired from active politics.
However, in September 2011, he returned to Maldivian politics as the leader of the newly formed Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), whose candidate Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, Maumoon's half-brother, was victorious in the 2013 presidential elections. In July 2016, due to disagreements between president Yameen and Maumoon, the party split into two factions. Later in October 27, Maumoon withdrew his support for president Yameen and joined the Maldives United Opposition.
Maumoon was arrested on 5 February 2018, for allegedly conspiring to overthrow the government along with his son-in-law Mohamed Nadheem. Maumoon's son, Faris Maumoon, was arrested and released, then arrested again a day after his release. The Maldivian Democracy Network reported Maumoon and Faris were being tortured by not being allowed medical treatment.
Maumoon was freed on bail on 30 September 2018.
Career and politics
Education and family life
Maumoon Abdul Gayoom is the son of Abdul Gayyoom Ibrahim (Maafaiygey Dhon Seedhi) and Khadheeja Moosa. His father had 25 children from 8 wives. He is the 11th child of his family.
He 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 Royal College, Colombo. He eventually reached Egypt in March 1950, after the end of the conflict.
He attended Al-Azhar University. He spent six months learning Arabic. He joined the Faculty and graduated in 1966. He also obtained a secondary level certificate in the English Language at the American University in Cairo.
In 1965, he met Nasreena Ibrahim, a student who had just arrived in Cairo from the Maldives for her studies. She was then 15 and he 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.
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 Aminiya 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, he was placed under house-arrest for criticizing 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. he 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, he was appointed under-secretary in the Telecommunications Department. He was 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, he was again arrested for criticizing 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 Maumoon's presidency and the Islamic Centre was erected on the site. After 50 days in jail, he was set free, in September 1974.