The longest-serving Asian president

It was only two weeks ago that the 15th SAARC Summit was concluded in Colombo. A host of foreign Heads of State and dignitaries turned up in the city for this important regional event.

Some of them were attending the Summit for the first time, while there were others who had more experience at these gatherings. One regional leader whom all of you would have definitely recognised was the President of the Maldives, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

It should not be surprising that all of you recognised him; he is the only South Asian leader who has attended all 15 SAARC Summits, right from the first event in Dhaka in 1985.

Besides holding this record, Gayoom is also known as Asia's longest-serving leader, being at the helm of his country for nearly three decades, ever since 1978.

Maumoon Abdul Gayoom was born on December 29, 1937 to Abdul Gayoom (Maafaiygey Dhon Seedhi) and Khadheeja. Gayoom was the 10th in his family. His mother died when he was young, while his father died in 1982. He quickly demonstrated an aptitude(natural ability or skill) for academic pursuits;

having followed early schooling in the capital and then later at Royal College, Colombo, he went for higher studies to Cairo, Egypt, one of 15 students especially selected for this purpose by the then President of the Maldives. He obtained an M.A. in Islamic Studies and also followed law and philosophy.

In 1967, he began working for the American University in Cairo as a research assistant in Muslim History.In 1965, Gayoom met Nasreena Ibrahim, a student who had just arrived in Cairo from the Maldives.

Four years later, they married in Cairo, on July 14, 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.

Thereafter, he returned to the Maldives in 1971 and joined a local school as a teacher of English, arithmetic and Islam. In 1972, he was appointed as the manager of the government shipping department.

In 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.

After serving five months of his sentence, Gayoom was released on October as a result of Nasir's amnesty following his re-election for another 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.

He was arrested again and kept in solitary confinement. Later, he was appointed as special under-secretary in the office of then Prime Minister. Later 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.

Upon his return, he was appointed under-secretary at the Department of External Affairs. 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 March 29, 1977, Gayoom was appointed as Minister of Transport, making him a member of Nasir's cabinet. He held the post until November 10, 1978.

In the same month he was nominated as Presidential Candidate. He assumed office as President on November 11, 1978 and on completion of his first five-year term as president, was re-elected in September 1983 for a second term. In September 1988, he was re-elected for a third term of Presidency.

His reign continues to this date after he was appointed on October 17, 2003, for a record sixth term of office with an overwhelming majority of 90.28 per cent.

Gayoom has been awarded honorary doctorates by many international institutions. He was also awarded the Global 500 Honour Roll by the United Nations Environment Programme in 1988, the International Environment Award by DRV (Travel Agents and Tour Operators Association of Germany) in 1998, and the Man of the Sea Award for 1990 by Lega Navale Italiana in 1991.

Gayoom was also awarded the Grand Order of Mugunghawa (the highest order of the Republic of Korea) in 1984, Knight Grand Cross of St. Michael and St. George (the highest order accorded to Foreign Dignitaries by the British Monarchy) in 1997, the World Health Organisation Health-for-All Gold Medal in 1998 and the Shield of Al-Azhar University of Cairo in 2002.

On January 8, this year, Gayoom escaped unharmed from an assassination attempt by Mohamed Murshid, a twenty-year-old man. Murshid attempted to stab Gayoom with a knife concealed in a Maldives flag.

The attempt was foiled when Mohamed Jaisham Ibrahim, a fifteen-year-old Boy Scout, blocked the attack with his bare hands. Jaisham sustained minor injuries and was subsequently treated. He was rewarded for his bravery by many parties including Sri Lanka.

Gayoom and Nasreena have four children, two girls, Dunya and Yumna, and two boys, Faris and Ghassan. His leisure interests include reading, poetry, astronomy, photography, calligraphy, badminton and cricket.