Abdul Rauff Hibbathul Hakeem (born 13 April 1960) 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 current member of

parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

, representing the Kandy electorate since 2010. Hakeem is the leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), and a member of the United National Front for Good Governance.

Early life and education

Hakeem was born 13 April 1960 in Nawalapitiya in

Kandy District Kandy District (, ) is a district of the Central Province of Sri Lanka. Its area is 1,940 km2 (750 sq mi). Administrative divisions Ethnic groups and religion Major cities Suburbs of city of Kandy * Peradeniya * Katugasto ...

. He was educated at

Royal College, Colombo Royal College, Colombo also known as; Royal Colombo, Colombo Royal College or Colombo Royal) is a Single-sex education, boys' school located in Cinnamon Gardens, Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Started by Joseph Marsh (priest), Joseph Mar ...

and attended the

Sri Lanka Law College Sri Lanka Law College (abbreviated as SLLC), formerly known as Ceylon Law College, is a law college, and the only legal institution where one can enrol as an Attorney-at-Law in Sri Lanka. It was established in 1874, under the then Council of Le ...

, taking oath as an

attorney-at-law Attorney at law or attorney-at-law, usually abbreviated in everyday speech to attorney, is the preferred term for a practising lawyer in certain jurisdictions, including South Africa (for certain lawyers), Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and the Unit ...

. He later gained a LL.M. degree from the

University of Colombo The University of Colombo (informally Colombo University or UoC) is a Public University, public research university located primarily in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is the oldest institution of modern higher education in Sri Lanka. Specialised in t ...

Political career

Hakeem met M. H. M. Ashraff, the founder and leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), whilst working at Faisz Musthapha's law chambers.

Sri Lanka Muslim Congress

Hakeem joined the SLMC in 1988. He served as general-secretary of the party from 1992 to 2000 and represented it at the All Party Conference from 1991 to 1993. Prior to the 1994 parliamentary election, the SLMC entered into an electoral pact with main opposition People's Alliance (PA).

Parliament

After the election, Hakeem was appointed as a PA National List MP in the

Sri Lankan Parliament The Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා පාර්ලිමේන්තුව ''Śrī Laṇkā Pārlimentuvā'', Tamil: இலங்கை நாடாளுமன்றம் '' ...

. Following the PA's victory the SLMC joined the new government. Ashraff was appointed Minister of Shipping, Ports and Rehabilitation and two other SLMC MPs became deputy ministers whilst Hakeem became Deputy Chairman of Committees. By 2000 relations between the SLMC and PA had become strained. Earlier, in 1999, Ashraff had founded the National Unity Alliance (NUA) with the aim of creating a "united Sri Lanka by 2012". Ashraff was killed in a mysterious helicopter crash on 16 September 2000. Hakeem contested the 2000 parliamentary election as one of the NUA's candidates in

. He was elected and re-entered Parliament. He was appointed Minister of Internal and International Trade Commerce, Muslim Religious Affairs and Shipping Development after the election.

Leader of the SLMC

Following the death of Ashraff in September 2000 Hakeem became the SLMC's "thesiya thalaivar" (national leader) but there was a power struggle between Ashraff's widow Ferial Ashraff and Hakeem for control of the party. In June 2001

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Chandrika Kumaratunga Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga (; ; born 29 June 1945), commonly referred to by her initials CBK, is a Sri Lankan politician who served as the fifth President of Sri Lanka, President of Sri Lanka from 12 November 1994 to 19 November 2005. ...

dismissed Hakeem from the cabinet. As a result, Hakeem and most SLMC MPs left the PA. However, Ferial Ashraff remained in the PA as leader of the NUA.

United National Front

In October 2001 the Hakeem led SLMC joined the

United National Party The United National Party (UNP; , ) is a Centre-right politics, centre-right political party in Sri Lanka. Founded in 1946, the party was one of Sri Lanka's two main parties for several decades. The UNP has served as the country's ruling party ...

dominated United National Front (UNF). Hakeem contested the 2001 parliamentary election as one of the UNF's candidates in Kandy District. He was elected and re-entered Parliament. The UNF defeated the PA at the election after which Hakeem was appointed Minister of Ports Development and Shipping in the UNF government. Hakeem contested the 2004 parliamentary election as one of the SLMC's candidates in

Ampara District Ampara District (; ) is one of the 25 Districts of Sri Lanka, districts of Sri Lanka, the second-level administrative divisions of the country. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a Government Agent (Sri Lanka), Distric ...

. He was elected and re-entered Parliament. He however lost his cabinet position after the UNF was defeated by the newly formed

United People's Freedom Alliance The United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA; ''Eksath Janathā Nidahas Sandānaya''; ) was a political alliance in Sri Lanka founded by former Sri Lankan president Chandrika Kumaratunga in 2004 and dissolved by former Sri Lankan President Ma ...

(UPFA).

United People's Freedom Alliance

In January 2007 the SLMC joined the UPFA. Hakeem was rewarded by being appointed Minister of Posts and Telecommunication. The SLMC left the UPFA in December 2007. Hakeem resigned from Parliament in April 2008 to contest the provincial council election. He contested the 2008 provincial council election as one of the UNF's candidates in

Trincomalee District Trincomalee District ( ; ) is one of the 25 Districts of Sri Lanka, districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative division of the country. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a Government Agent (Sri Lanka), D ...

and was elected to the

Eastern Provincial Council The Eastern Provincial Council (EPC ''Kiḻakku Mākāṇa Capai''; “Nagenahira Palat Sabava”; EPC) is the provincial council for the Eastern Province in Sri Lanka. In accordance with the Sri Lankan constitution, EPC has legislative powe ...

(EPC). After the UNF failed to win control of the EPC Hakeem resigned in July 2008 and was appointed as UNF National List MP.

United National Front

Hakeem contested the 2010 parliamentary election as one of the UNF's candidates in Kandy District. He was elected and re-entered Parliament.

United People's Freedom Alliance

In November 2010 the SLMC joined UPFA again. Hakeem was rewarded by being appointed

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

2015 presidential election

The SLMC left the UPFA in December 2014 to support common opposition candidate

Maithripala Sirisena Maithripala Yapa Sirisena (; ; born 3 September 1951) is a Sri Lankan politician who served as the seventh president of Sri Lanka from 9 January 2015 to 18 November 2019. Sirisena is Sri Lanka's first president from the North Central Province, S ...

at the

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The p ...

. President

Mahinda Rajapaksa Mahinda Rajapaksa (; ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the sixth President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to 2015; the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 2004 to 2005, 2018, and 2019 to 2022; the ...

dismissed Hakeem from the cabinet. After the election, the newly elected President Sirisena rewarded Hakeem by appointing him Minister of Urban Development, Water Supply and Drainage.

United National Front for Good Governance

In July 2015 the SLMC joined with other anti-Rajapaksa parties to form the United National Front for Good Governance (UNFGG) to contest the parliamentary election. Hakeem was one of the UNFGG's candidates in Kandy District at the 2015 parliamentary election. He was elected and re-entered Parliament. His cabinet portfolio was changed to Minister of City Planning and Water Supply after the election.

Kumari Cooray controversy

During the 2001 parliamentary election campaign Kumari Cooray, daughter of politician Mervyn J. Cooray, claimed and then denied that she had been having an

affair An affair is a relationship typically between two people, one or both of whom are either married or in a long-term Monogamy, monogamous or emotionally-exclusive relationship with someone else. The affair can be solely sexual, solely physical or ...

with Hakeem. In May 2004, during the struggle to fill the Speaker position in Parliament, Cooray appeared on Rupavahini and claimed that Hakeem had ended their relationship and that she was suicidal. Cooray killed herself by setting herself ablaze outside Hakeem's home in Kollupitiya on 6 October 2005. According to the ''

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

'', two months prior to her suicide Cooray had made a complaint at Kollupitiya police station that Hakeem had assaulted her at her home.

Personal life

Hakeem is married to Shanaz (Shahnaz), owner of an ice cream parlour in

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 ...

Electoral history

References

External links