''The Honourable'' Mohamed Azath Sanoon Salley () (born 18 September 1963) is a

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

n politician and the eighth Governor of the Western Province. Salley was the deputy mayor of

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

in the early 2000s, and was the Acting

Mayor of Colombo The Mayor of Colombo is the elected head of the Colombo Municipal Council. The post was created in 1866 when the Colombo Municipal Council was established by the Legislative Council of Ceylon. The mayor is assisted by the deputy mayor and a Munic ...

as well as the founder/leader of the

National Unity Alliance The National Unity Alliance () is a political alliance in Sri Lanka. Founded in 1999, the alliance ceased to exist in 2010 when its remaining members joined the Sri Lanka Freedom Party. However, Azath Salley subsequently assumed leadership of the ...

(NUA). He has two children, Amina Salley (daughter) an
Nafees Salley
(son). In May 2013, Salley was arrested and later released by the Sri Lankan Forces under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) after he supposedly called Muslims to launch an "armed struggle" during an interview., the charges were proven to be baseless and he was acquitted. Salley founded the National Unity Front, a National political party. He was a member of the Central Provincial Council. He worked in partnership with the United Arab Emirates High Commission in Colombo to help the needy during the Islamic Holy Month of Ramazan. On 4 January 2019 he was sworn in as the eighth

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

of the

Western Province Western Province or West Province may refer to: *Western Province, Cameroon *Western Province, Rwanda *Western Province (Kenya) *Western Province (Papua New Guinea) *Western Province (Solomon Islands) *Western Province, Sri Lanka *Western Provinc ...

. However, as a result of the 2019 Easter Bomb attacks by radical thowheed jamath Islamists, Azath Salley resigned. All the allegations against Azath Salley were baseless and he was acquitted on the 2nd of December 2021. Salley was somewhat of a controversial figure after the COVID-19 pandemic, as one of the only Muslim leaders in the island to talk against the government's forceful cremation of COVID-19 victims.

Azath Salley Foundation

Before his tenure as deputy mayor of Colombo, Azath Salley founded the Azath Salley Foundation with intent to distribute food and dry rations among the less fortunate people in Sri Lanka. The foundation donates food, dry rations and financial assistance to less fortunate every year in collaboration with corporate sponsors and high commissions.

National Unity Alliance The National Unity Alliance () is a political alliance in Sri Lanka. Founded in 1999, the alliance ceased to exist in 2010 when its remaining members joined the Sri Lanka Freedom Party. However, Azath Salley subsequently assumed leadership of the ...

Azath Salley is presently the leader of the

, a registered and active political party in Sri Lanka. Hon. Governor Azath Salley is also the General Secretary of the party. According to Election Commission's records, Mr Adam Gany is the Chairman of the Party.

References

Living people 1963 births Provincial councillors of Sri Lanka Governors of Western Province, Sri Lanka {{SriLanka-mayor-stub