Gasim and Sobir presented with state honors

Maamigili Constituency Gasim Ibrahim and Ambassador of the Republic of the Maldives to Japan Hassan Sobir have been awarded with The Most Honourable Order of the Distinguished Rule of Izzuddin due to their long-time contributions to the state.

The medals were presented by President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu earlier this morning at the Social Centre in celebration of Maldives' 60th Independence Day.

Sobir was unable to attend the event due to health reasons, and so the medal was received by his daughter.

Businessman Gasim has offered his services amongst various key positions in the state.

He was the Finance Minister in 2005 in former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom's cabinet. He has also arranged for majority shares from major government companies to be under the Maldivian government. He has also pushed the boundaries of the financial sector of the country, with the arrangement for the sale of bonds and Treasury bills.

Due to modern banking regulations needing to be implemented, Gasim, along with the help of experts, brought into existence the Public Finance Act in 2006 after creating a draft bill. Various works of importance and usefulness were also done under the act. Maldives' internet banking system and a centralized payment management system was also created during Gasim's time as minister.

Gasim was also the governor of the Maldives Monetary Authority, in addition to being the Finance Minister at the time. He was also appointed as the Governor from Maldives at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

He was also the Home Minister in former President Mohamed Nasheed's first cabinet. He has also taken steps to protect the tourism industry, such as prohibiting the act of protesting in resorts.

Gasim has been a major part of Maldivian political reform and democratic movements. In 2001, he was also the first to sign regarding the creation of MDP. Under Maumoon's reform agenda, the work of amending the Constitution began with the People's Special Majlis, which he also presided over.

He was also the Alif Atoll member during the 13th Parliament. He has also been a member of the Maamigili constituency for four consecutive terms since the 17th Parliament. He was the 18th Speaker of the Parliament. In 2008, he founded the Jumhooree Party.

In recognition of his services, the state awarded him the Nishaan Muliaage Sharaf in 2013. He was awarded the National Award for Public Service in 1988 for promoting business in Maldives, the National Award for Public Service in 1995 for tourism and the National Award of Honor in 2007 for exceptional service to the community.

Sobir has served the state for a long time in the economic field, with tourism and fisheries and agriculture being major parts. He has also made valuable contributions to the planning and implementation of development projects in Maldives, with his work in the foreign sector seeing results as well.

In 1978 during former President Maumoon's administration, he was appointed as the Statistical Survey Officer of the National Planning Agency, an agency that was created during said administration. In 1979, he went to the United States to gain further education and experience in his aforementioned field. After he came back, his most important work as the Statistical Officer of the National Planning Agency was the 1985 census. He was also responsible for bringing in the first computer to Maldives.

Sobir served as a lawyer to the Ministry of Planning and Development after it was formed, following the abolishment of the National Planning Agency in 1982, with him holding many senior positions in the ministry afterwards. He was also the Minister of Fisheries in 1993 and the Minister of Tourism in 1998 and 2003.

Maldives' famous motto, 'The Sunny Side of Life' was created when he was minister.

Sobir was also the first to establish the state-owned water company, Maldives Water and Sewerage Company Pvt Ltd (MWSC), and served as its chairman.

In 2004, Sobir served as Maldives' Ambassador to the United Kingdom. He also worked to seek foreign aid to help Maldives recover from the tsunami that struck that same year. Sobir has also served as the Maldives' ambassador to Singapore, the European Union and Japan.