Abdul Majeed Didi

Abdul Majeed Didi
Lord of Twelve Thousand Isles,
Sultan of the Maldives

Al Munthakhab Li arshi Dhaulathil Mahaldheebiyya
Abdul Majeed Didi
Reign1944 – 21 February 1952
PredecessorHassan Nooraddeen Iskandar II
HeirCrown Prince Muhammad Fareed Didi
Born(1873-08-29)29 August 1873
Malé
Died21 February 1952(1952-02-21) (aged 78)
Navaloka Hospital, Colombo, Ceylon
Burial22 February 1952
Kuppiyawatte Muslim Burial Grounds, Colombo.
SpouseDhon Didi
IssueKing Muhammad Fareed Didi
Prince Hassan Farid Didi
Prince Ibrahim Fareed Didi
Names
Al Ameeru Abdul Majeed Rannabandeyri Kilegefaanu
HouseHuraa
FatherIbraahim Dhoshimeynaa Kilegefaan
MotherDhon Didi
SignatureAbdul Majeed Didi's signature

Abdul Majeed (Dhivehi: އަލްއަމީރު އަބްދުލްމަޖީދު ރައްނަބަނޑޭރި ކިލެގެފާނު) (or Al Ameeru Abdul Majeed Rannabandeyri Kilegefaanu) (29 August 1873 – 21 February 1952) served as Sultan of the Maldives from 1944 to 1952. At the time, the Maldives were a British protectorate. Didi is recognized a reformer and has been described as "the father of the modern Maldives".[1]

He was fluent in Dhivehi, Urdu, English, Arabic and Sinhalese. Didi spent most of his life in Egypt. He served as the Vice Prime Minister during his father's time. He served as the Prime Minister of Sultan Muhammad Shamsuddeen III from 1926 to 1932. During his own reign, his son Prince Hassan Fareed Didi exerted significant control over the government through the Executive Council. After his death, the Maldives proclaimed its first short lived republican government under the pro-socialist president Muhammad Amin Didi. He also designed the flag of Maldives.[2]

Sultan Majeed Didi died on 21 February 1952 in Ceylon. The first Maldivian school, Majeediyya School, was named after him.

References

  1. ^ Schottli, Jivanta; Mitra, Subrata K.; Wolf, Siegried (8 May 2015). A Political and Economic Dictionary of South Asia. ISBN 9781135355760.
  2. ^ "Maldives".
Abdul Majeed Didi
Born: 1873 (?) Died: 21 February 1952
Regnal titles
Preceded by Sultan of the Maldives
1944 – 21 February 1952
Vacant