Abdulla Yameen

Abdulla Yameen
عبدالله یامین
7th President of the Maldives
Assumed office
17 November 2013
Vice President Mohamed Jameel Ahmed
Ahmed Adeeb
Abdulla Jihad
Preceded by Mohammed Waheed Hassan
Personal details
Born Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom
(1959-05-21) 21 May 1959
Malé, Maldives
Political party Progressive Party
Spouse(s) Fathimath Ibrahim
Residence Muliaage
Alma mater American University of Beirut
Claremont Graduate University
Religion Islam

Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom (Maldivian: އަބްދުﷲ ޔާމީން އަބްދުލް ގައްޔޫމް; born 21 May 1959), commonly known as Abdulla Yameen, is a Maldivian politician who has been President of the Maldives since 2013.[1][2] He is the half-brother of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.[3]

As the presidential candidate for the Progressive Party (PPM), Yameen was elected as President in 2013, defeating Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) leader and former president Mohamed Nasheed in the 2013 presidential elections.[4][5] In addition to his political career, Yameen spent a large part of his life as a community organiser in Machchangolhi Ward an administrative district of Malé, Maldives) where he was raised. After a few years in People’s Alliance (PA), a political party he helped form, Yameen left to join the Progressive Party of Maldives[6] (PPM) in 2010. He served as the head of PPM’s Parliamentary Group since the party’s formation and currently occupies the post after being elected to it at PPM’s first Congress held between January 17 and 19, 2013.

Early life and career

In his early life, Yameen completed his primary and secondary education at Majeediyya School in Malé, Maldives.[7] Upon completion of his schooling he earned his bachelor's degree in business administration at the American University of Beirut in Lebanon.[7] He later completed his master's degree in public policy at Claremont Graduate University in Los Angeles, California.[7] During the presidency of his half-brother Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Yameen worked as a community organiser in Manchchangolhi Ward in the capital Malé. He was appointed as Minister of Trade and Industries in November 1993.[7] Later he was Minister of Higher Education, Employment and Social Security from 2005 to 2007 and Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation in 2008.[7]

Presidency (2013-present)

Yameen (left) with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the 2014 SAARC summit.

After resigning as leader of PA, Yameen joined PPM, the party of former President Gayoom and ran for presidency in 2013. The election was held under controversial circumstances following Nasheed's resignation as president in 2012. In the first round of voting, Nasheed received 45.45% of the votes and Yameen received 25.35% of the votes and finished in second place, forcing a second round which Yameen won by 51.39% of votes to Nasheed's 48.61%.[8][9][10] The results were disputed by opposition members due to the planned original second round being annulled by the Supreme Court due to a high number of ineligible voters being registered.[11][12][13]

During his presidency Yameen has sought various economic reforms including allowing the foreign ownership of land in Maldives for the first time.[14] He has also sought closer economic relations with China by supporting China's Maritime Silk Road and also by promoting Chinese and other overseas investment in the Maldives.[15][16]

Yameen has also faced criticism from opposition supporters and overseas leaders for the imprisonment of political figures such as former president Mohamed Nasheed and former Minister of Defence Mohamed Nazim.[17][18][19] He has been accused of framing and imprisoning them for political purposes, a claim that Yameen has denied.[20]

Personal life

Yameen is the son of Sheikh Abdul Gayoom Ibrahim, who was an eminent judge in the Maldives, and half brother of the former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.[7][21] He is married to Fathimath Ibrahim and to this date the couple have three children, two sons and a daughter.[7] On September 28, 2015, his wife, Fathimath Ibrahim, was injured in a reported assassination attempt on Yameen, which was blamed on Vice President Ahmed Adeeb.[22]

Controversies

In 2015 Yameen was embroiled in a money-laundering scandal. Which former president Nasheed stolen half of it before it arrived in MALDIVES and pronounced "internal job".

Documents and email communications reveal that a Singapore-based shadowy businessman named Tan Kuan Yew flew ‘huge cash amounts’ into the Maldives, which was then laundered through official banking channels in the island country. The money was then channelised into legitimate businesses by floating a front company, SitiTrust & Administrator Ltd. According to documents, the idea of a front company was first conveyed by Tan to Ghassan and Adeeb on December 30, 2014. Documents reveal name of several top government officials, which show that the conspiracy was hatched in connivance with them.

A money laundering scam involving $1.5 billion is looming over the top political family of Maldives—involving former Vice-President Ahmed Adeeb; Ghassan Maumoon and Faris Maumoon, who are the nephews of President Abdulla Yameen and former President Abdul Gayoom’s sons. Recorded semiconductor largest of its kind, the largest was $2.8B flown in to the country from Malta. The owner I identified but the most it proves it was former president Nasheed and his close effiliate Indian tycoon GM Rao are the hires. [23]

References

  1. ↑ "Maldives swears in new president". Al-Jazeera. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
  2. ↑ "Yameen sworn in as president of the Maldives". BBC World News. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
  3. ↑ "Maldives profile - Leaders - BBC News". Retrieved 2015-09-14.
  4. ↑ "Maldives election: Abdulla Yameen wins run-off vote - BBC News". Retrieved 2015-09-14.
  5. ↑ http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/apr/30/release-mohamed-nasheed-maldives-president-conviction
  6. ↑ "Progressive Party of Maldives - Official Website - Dhivehi". Ppm.mv. Retrieved 2013-06-26.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "The President's Office - President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom". www.presidencymaldives.gov.mv. Retrieved 2015-09-14.
  8. ↑ Male, Nicholas Milton in; Burke, Jason. "Maldives presidential election goes to second-round vote". the Guardian. Retrieved 2015-09-14.
  9. ↑ "Sun Online: Maldives Presidential Elections 2013". www.sun.mv. Retrieved 2015-09-14.
  10. ↑ "Yaameen elected Maldivian President by a narrow margin". The Hindu. 2013-11-16. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2015-09-14.
  11. ↑ "Maldives court annuls presidential election result - BBC News". Retrieved 2015-09-14.
  12. ↑ "Maldives election: Supreme Court delays run-off vote - BBC News". Retrieved 2015-09-14.
  13. ↑ "Maldives top court annuls September 7 presidential vote, sets new election". Reuters. 2013-10-07. Retrieved 2015-09-14.
  14. ↑ "Maldives foreign land ownership reform bill is approved - BBC News". Retrieved 2015-09-15.
  15. ↑ "HaveeruOnline - China-Maldives relations on new upward trajectory". www.haveeru.com.mv. Retrieved 2015-09-15.
  16. ↑ "China and Maldives: Partners in Building 21st Century Maritime Silk Road Together". mv.chineseembassy.org. Retrieved 2015-09-15.
  17. ↑ "Maldives ex-leader Mohammed Nasheed jailed for 13 years - BBC News". Retrieved 2015-09-15.
  18. ↑ "Fears Of Instability In Maldives After Ex-President Jailed". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2015-09-15.
  19. ↑ "Maldives jails ex-defence minister for 11 years". Retrieved 2015-09-15.
  20. ↑ "President denies that he had been aware of Nazim being framed- Spokesperson". Retrieved 2015-09-15.
  21. ↑ "Who is Yameen Abdul Gayoom?". Retrieved 2015-09-14.
  22. ↑ "The Maldives is in political turmoil after the vice-president's arrest". The Economist. 26 October 2015. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
  23. ↑ "Maldives Prez Family in Billion-Dollar Money Laundering Scam". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2016-05-10.

5. https://web.archive.org/web/20150416113945/http://minivannews.com/politics/presidential-commission-forwards-yameens-alleged-us800-million-illegal-oil-trade-for-prosecution-31434#sthash.D2xlx7Ai.dpuf

External links

Political offices
Preceded by
Mohammed Waheed Hassan		 President of the Maldives
2013–present 		Incumbent
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