Maumoon Abdul Gayoom

Gayoom got married on July 14, 1969 in Cairo to Nasreena Ibrahim from Maldives whom he met in Cairo. The couple had twin daughters and two sons (Dhunya, Yumna , Farish and Ghassan).

Gayoom had a narrow escape on January 8, 2008 when a twenty-year-old Mohamed Murshid attacked him with a knife in Hoarafushi. He was saved by a young boy scout, Mohamed Jaisham Ibrahim who sustained the attack with his hands and faced injuries.

Mamoon Abdul Gayoom was born December 29, 1937 to Abdul Gayoom Ibrahim and Khadheeja Moosa. His father had 125 children from 8 wives and Gayoom is the 11th child of his parents.

Gayoom spent a considerable part of his youth in Egypt as a part of the educational group sent by Mohamed Amin Didi under an educational scheme.

He had left for Egypt in 1947 but due to Arab-Israeli conflict in 1948-49, he had to stay in Ceylon where he enrolled at the Royal College, Colombo, and stayed for another two and half years till 1950.

In March 1950 he reached Egypt and joined the Galamuniyaa University for graduation. He passed out from college with flying colors in 1966. He also got trained in Arabic and English language, receiving a secondary level certificate for the later from the American University in Cairo.

He shifted to Zaria, Nigeria post marriage in 1969 where he became a lecturer of Islamic studies at the Ahmadu Bello University. After fulfilling the contractual term of two years, he went back to Maldives.

While in Maldives, he worked as English, arithmetic and Islam teacher in the Aminiyya School during 1971 and later became the manager of the governmental shipping department in 1972.

Gayoom was tried in 1973 for criticizing the policies of President Ibrahim Nasir and sentenced to banishment for 4 years, but he was released within five months only due to an amnesty post Ibrahim Nasir’s re-election.

In 1974, he became under-secretary in the department of telecommunications and later became its director.

Gayyom was once again in trouble for criticizing Nasir in 1974, and this time he was imprisoned for 50 days in Male in the prison called the ‘China Garden’.