Fayyaz Ismail

Fayyaz Ismail is a Maldivian politician and lawyer who served as the Chairperson of the Maldivian Democratic Party from 2022 to 2025. He previously served as the Minister of Economic Development in the cabinet of Ibrahim Mohamed Solih from 2018 to 2023, and was the Member of the 18th People's Majlis for the L. Gan constituency prior to his appointment.

Education Ismail holds a Bachelor of Laws from Middlesex University.

Career

Early career In 2009, Ismail served as a non-executive director of Dhiraagu. He also sat on the employment advisory board of the Ministry of Human Resources. He was a managing partner at Aequitas Legal Consultants.

Member of the 18th People's Majlis (2014–2018) Ismail was elected to the 18th People's Majlis as the representative for the L. Gan constituency following a victory over incumbent Yoosuf Abdul Ghafoor during the 2014 parliamentary election.

In 2015, Ismail was arrested and detained, alongside MDP Vice President Mohamed Shifaz, National Council Member and former MP Ilyas Labeeb and 23 others at the 2015 May Day protests calling for the release of opposition MDP's president Mohamed Nasheed, who had been convicted of terrorism in the midst of a crackdown on political opposition and dissent by President Abdulla Yameen.

Minister of Economic Development (2018–2023) After Ibrahim Mohamed Solih was sworn in as the president of the Maldives, Ismail was appointed as the Minister of Economic Development on 17 November 2018.

Among the policies enacted during his tenure, Ismail was responsible for the formation of a minimum wage board, through which the Maldives' first minimum wage was established on 8 November 2021, and instituted at the start of 2022. Despite being a landmark bill for labour rights in the Maldives, the policy has been criticized for excluding migrant workers, who remain among the most vulnerable populations in the Maldives.

Ismail also oversaw development of the Industrial Relations and Occupational Health and Safety bills passed in 2023, codifying the right to take industrial action, freedom to form trade unions, and protections for freedom of speech, as well as setting guidelines for establishing workplace safety, and mechanisms for compensating injured workers.

He has also been credited with the largest scale regularization and repatriation of undocumented foreign workers, with more than 40,000 undocumented laborers registering with the Maldivian government in 2020.

However, Imsail has come under criticism with regard to the ballooning foreign debt of the Maldives, caused in considerable part due to external shocks such as the Russia-Ukraine war, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Interim Minister of Tourism (2020)

Ali Waheed was dismissed as the Minister of Tourism in President Solih's cabinet following allegations of sexual harassment and assault from employees in the tourism ministry. Ismail was appointed as the interim Minister of Tourism on 10 July 2020. Ismail was succeeded by Abdulla Mausoom.

Interim term as Minister of Communications (2021):

Ismail served as the interim Minister of Communications, Science and Technology in March 2021 after the People's Majlis (parliament) passed a no confidence vote against incumbent Minister Mohamed Maleeh Jamal. The Ministry was later dissolved in May with functions being transferred to the Ministry of Climate Change, Environment and Energy.

Chairperson of the Maldivian Democratic Party On 23 May 2022, Ismail was elected as the Chairperson of the Maldivian Democratic Party. He was elected following a landslide victory.

In 2025, Ismail resigned as the chairperson of the party. In his resignation letter, Ismail noted that he resigned due to his interest to take part in the 2028 presidential election.