Fayyaz Ismail () is a Maldivian politician and lawyer currently serving as the opposition leader and

Chairperson The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a Board of directors, board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by ...

of the

Maldivian Democratic Party The Maldivian Democratic Party (, ''Dhivehi Rayyithunge Demokretik Paati''; MDP) is the first political party formed in the Republic of Maldives. The party is supportive of the promotion of human rights and democracy in the Maldives. It won ...

following his election in 2022. He previously served as the Minister of Economic Development in President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih's cabinet from 2018 to 2023, and was the Parliamentary Representative for the L.Gan constituency prior to his appointment.

Early life and education

Fayyaz Ismail was born on 16 May 1974. He holds a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

from

Middlesex University Middlesex University London (legally Middlesex University and abbreviated to MDX) is a public research university based in Hendon, northwest London, England. The university also has campuses in Dubai and Mauritius. The name of the university is ...

Career

Early career

In 2009, Fayyaz served as a non-executive director of

Dhiraagu Dhiraagu () is the first Maldivian telecommunications company, which was founded in 1988. The company was created as a joint venture of the Maldivian government and Cable & Wireless and had a monopoly on the entire industry in the country unt ...

. He also sat on the employment advisory board of the Ministry of Human Resources. He is a practicing lawyer at Aequitas Legal Consultants.

Political career

Fayyaz was a member of the Social Liberal Party from 2008 to 2011, until he joined the

(MDP) in 2011, where he currently serves as chairperson.

Member of the 18th People's Majlis (2014–2018)

Fayyaz was elected to the 18th People's Majlis as the representative for the L.

Gan The word Gan or the initials GAN may refer to: Places * Gan, a component of Hebrew placenames literally meaning "garden" China * Gan River (Jiangxi) * Gan River (Inner Mongolia), * Gan County, in Jiangxi province * Gansu, abbreviated '' ...

constituency following a victory over incumbent Yoosuf Abdul Ghafoor during the

2014 Maldivian Parliamentary Election Parliamentary elections were held in the Maldives on 22 March 2014. The Progressive Party of Maldives and its allies won 53 seats. Background The elections were held after the controversial presidential elections in which Abdulla Yameen defeated ...

. In 2015, Fayyaz was arrested and detained, alongside MDP Vice President Mohamed Shifaz, National Council Member and former MP Ilyas Labeeb and 23 others at the 2015 May Day protests calling for the release of opposition MDP's president Mohamed Nasheed, who had been convicted of terrorism in the midst of a crackdown on political opposition and dissent by president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayyoom.

Minister of Economic Development (2018–2023)

After

Ibrahim Mohamed Solih Ibrahim Mohamed Solih (; born 4 May 1964), popularly known as Ibu, is a Maldivian politician who served as the 7th President of the Maldives from 2018 to 2023. Solih was a parliamentarian for 15 years, he represented the Hinnavaru constitue ...

was sworn in as the president of the Maldives, Fayyaz was appointed as the Minister of Economic Development on 17 November 2018. Among the policies enacted during his tenure, Fayyaz was responsible for the formation of a minimum wage board, through which the Maldives' first minimum wage was established on 8th November, 2021, and instituted at the start of 2022. Despite being a landmark bill for labour rights in the Maldives, the policy has been criticized for excluding migrant workers, who remain among the most vulnerable populations in the Maldives. Fayyaz also oversaw development of the Industrial Relations and Occupational Health and Safety bills passed in 2023, codifying the right to take industrial action, freedom to form trade unions, and protections for freedom of speech, as well as setting guidelines for establishing workplace safety, and mechanisms for compensating injured workers. He has also been credited with the largest scale regularization and repatriation of undocumented foreign workers, with more than 40,000 undocumented laborers registering with the Maldivian government in 2020. However, the former minister of economics has come under criticism with regard to the ballooning foreign debt of the Maldives, caused in considerable part due to external shocks such as the

Russia-Ukraine war The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...

, and the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Interim Minister of Tourism (2020) Following Minister Ali Waheed's dismissal from his position as minister of tourism in president Solih's cabinet following allegations of sexual harassment and assault, Fayyaz was appointed the interim Minister for Tourism on July 10th, 2020. He was succeeded by Dr. Abdulla Mausoom on the 6th of August, 2020. Interim term as Minister of Communications (2021): From the first of March, 2021, Fayyaz served as the interim head at the Ministry of Communications, Science and Technology, after the 19th parliament passed a motion of no-confidence against minister

Mohamed Maleeh Jamal Mohamed Maleeh Jamal (; born 13 July 1978) is a Maldivian politician. Life Born on the island of Fuvahmulah, Maleeh is a Fulbright scholar who graduated from the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). Throughout his political career, he has ...

. The ministry was ultimately dissolved in May, 2021, with a majority of the responsibilities falling within the Ministry of Climate Change, Environment and Energy.

Chairperson of MDP

On 23 May 2022, Ismail was elected as the

of the Maldivian Democratic Party. He was elected following a landslide victory.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ismail, Fayyaz 1962 births Members of the People's Majlis Government ministers of the Maldives Maldivian Democratic Party politicians Alumni of Middlesex University Living people Leaders of the Maldivian Democratic Party