Abdul Majeed Abdul Bari

Abdul Majeed Abdul Bari (; 1963–22 May 2018) was a Maldivian politician and Islamic scholar who served as the first Minister of Islamic Affairs of the Maldives from 2008 to 2012. Abdul Majeed died on 22 May 2018, in Colombo, Sri Lanka at the age of 55.

Education Bari received his first education at the Hulhudhoo Madrasah and later on at Feydhoo School in Seenu Atoll. After that, he went to Malé and attended English Preparatory and Secondary School (EPSS). He was the first Maldivian to earn a Doctor of Philosophy in Quran Tafseer. He was also a senior lecturer at the Maldives National University, joining in 2012.

Political career As a member of the Adhaalath Party (AP), Bari served as the first Minister of Islamic Affairs during the presidency of Mohamed Nasheed. In October 2011, Bari resigned as Minister of Islamic Affairs following his party's decision to break its coalition with the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) government. He was later reappointed by Nasheed as the same post a week later. Although opposition MPs in the People's Majlis (parliament) were to vote against his reappointment, he was endorsed by the parliament in a narrow vote.

In 2013, Bari left the AP and joined the MDP. In 2015, he reversed his decision and rejoined the AP.

In 2016, Bari was briefly detained at Bandaranaike International Airport for carrying large sums of money.

Death On 19 May 2018, Bari family revealed that he had suffered a stroke in Sri Lanka and was under a medically induced coma. He underwent three surgeries and was put on ventilator support after. On 22 May, he died.

Former presidents Mohamed Nasheed and Abdulla Yameen called Bari a notable reformist and offered condolences to his family.

He was buried at the Muslim cemetery in Colombo the next day. A book of condolences was opened by the Maldives National University for Abdul Majeed.

Awards In 2019, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih posthumously conferred the National Award of Honour to Bari for his contributions towards Islamic awareness and Islamic education in the Maldives.