Abdul Majeed Didi

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]

Abdul Majeed Didi
Lord of Twelve Thousand Isles, Sultan of the Maldives Al Munthakhab Li arshi Dhaulathil Mahaldheebiyya
Abdul Majeed Didi
Reign	1944 – 21 February 1952
Predecessor	Hassan Nooraddeen Iskandar II
Heir	Crown Prince Muhammad Fareed Didi
Born	29 August 1873 Male`
Died	21 February 1952 (aged 78) Navaloka Hospital, Colombo, Ceylon
Burial	22 February 1952 Kuppiyawatte Muslim Burial Grounds, Colombo.
Spouse	Dhon Didi
Issue	King Muhammad Fareed Didi Prince Hassan Farid Didi Prince Ibrahim Fareed Didi
Full name Al Ameeru Abdul Majeed Rannabandeyri Kilegefaanu
House	Huraa
Father	Ibraahim Dhoshimeynaa Kilegefaan
Mother	Dhon Didi

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 the 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. http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Maldives.htm